Non Zero Sum Game
by Lord Raa
Summary: In a world where Britannia's moral corruption is more overt than canon, can Lelouch stand against a tide of depravity? Caution: Story contains immoral behaviour that should not be emulated by anyone.
1. Chapter 01

This is your only warning that the following story:

1) Contains themes of an adult nature and references practices and behaviours that are either immoral or illegal. Said practices and behaviours are not endorsed by the author.

2) Is an alternative universe where some things are different to the canon timeline that you know and love. These changes will become evident in time if/when the story is continued.

3) It is not a tale for people who cannot appreciate jokes about human sexuality and/or sexual deviancy. Remember, this is just a bit of fun.

* * *

Non Zero Sum Game

By Lord Raa

* * *

Disclaim-me-do: There's some schmoo on the backside of these balls. Story of my life.

* * *

Chapter 01

* * *

Charles zi Britannia, was a powerful man in all definitions of the word. He was a tall, strong man. He was the ruler of the Holy Britannian Empire, the largest single political entity the world had ever seen. He had the intelligence and motivation to shape the world to his vision.

He was also concerned that one of his sons was not like the others.

There was no doubt that this son was his offspring, as might be the case with certain other generations of the Imperial line. He had all certain inherited traits that Charles had. Intelligence, cunning, blood type, not to mention that the DNA testing, all confirmed Lelouch was indeed the Emperor's scion.

No, it was not Lelouch's lineage that concerned the Emperor, it was his behaviour.

For the past hundred generations, the upper classes of the Britannian race were hedonistic. Everyone on the planet had their desires, but it was different with the Britannians. During the Dark Ages, the aristocracy made the Romans look like Puritans with their debauchery.

Incest, bestiality, BDSM were common, and often all simultaneously committed before breakfast time!

A few hundred years later, more moral behaviour prevailed. The public fornication under the guise of a religious offering for bountiful harvests was long gone, instead, the upper classes used modern technology to be more sophisticated with their predilections.

Oh, it was common knowledge that the Imperial family and its friends were all degenerates. That hedonism was part of the control that the Empire used on conquered people. It was a form of soft power, similar to that of the Roman Empire. A carrot to encourage compliance, instead of just using a stick. The conditions for the entry to the "Princess Lottery" had caused a great deal of the rebellious sentiment in South America to die down.

But Lelouch vi Britannia, the Eleventh Prince, wasn't depraved at all. He wasn't even remotely lecherous with any of the stunningly attractive women that the Emperor kept around for his entertainment.

His fraternal twin sister, Nunnally, was more like the rest of her extended family. She expressed an aptitude for dominating others in the most subtle of ways, usually in the form of tricking people to expose themselves in public.

Not that certain other family members needed any coercion to get them to get naked in front of others. Marianne vi Britannian, Nunnally and Lelouch's mother, was known as Marianne the Flash for good reason.

But nothing seemed to cause so much as a twitch in the trousers or bring a blush to the cheeks with Lelouch.

Even the most boring of the Imperial family, the Crown Prince Odysseus eu Britannia, was at least aggressively vanilla with his sexual desires – and he wanted only a single woman to love for the rest of his days, only daring to have sex for the purposes of siring the next generation.

Charles sighed. There was something wrong with the eleventh prince, perhaps he was too desensitised to things in the Palace? Would sending him away to where there were… fresher, less familiar options help?

He called for his second son, Schneizel el Britannia.

"Yes, Father?" the blonde asked as he prepared to take a seat. He snapped his fingers and a figure clad in royal blue latex positioned itself so it could be used a chair.

"I'm worried about Lelouch. He hasn't shown any inclination to indulge his desires. Even Odysseus had talked about holding a girl's hands at this stage!" Charles complained when his son was seated.

Schneizel nodded in contemplation. He cared for his younger brother, as Lelouch was shaping up to be something of an intellectual powerhouse. But this lack of sexual desire was unsettling the entire Imperial family. An asexual Britannian prince? Had it not been for the DNA testing proving the parentage of the boy, people would have been questioning who in the Imperial family liked cuckoldry.

"You're not planning to have Lelouch… Removed, are you?"

"What? No! This isn't the middle ages, I can't just have a son killed because I don't like his sexual preferences!"

"That's a relief. However, removal might be the answer. Consider this scenario – Lelouch is too crowded by the Imperial lifestyle. A little space might allow him to grow," Schneizel suggested.

"Yes... space…" the Emperor nodded. "He could be feeling cramped living in the nest. He wouldn't be the youngest member of the Imperial line to strike out for new experiences. But where could he go?"

The prince looked thoughtful for a moment. "I've heard some interesting things about Japan. They have some intriguing ideas when it comes to sex."

Charles' eyes lit up as he realised he could kill two birds with a single stone. The Japanese archipelago was the biggest producer of Sakuradite in the world, controlling that production would ensure a firm hand on the tiller of fate.

Sending Lelouch to study there would give the Japanese people some reassurance that an invasion wouldn't happen any time soon.

Not to mention that he would come into contact with some of their culture, and if Schneizel's comments were remotely true, Lelouch might finally develop a sex drive and acquire a fetish.

Even a mundane fetish, like peeking at a woman's underwear, would be an improvement to the current situation.

"Make the arrangements, Schneizel," the Emperor commanded. "I'll go talk to Lelouch myself."

* * *

Lelouch was concerned that this "study abroad" idea was more like a ploy to get him to "study a broad".

Why couldn't they just accept that he didn't want to leer at people? And grabbing someone's ass was just plan rude, not to mention creepy.

Why did the Britannian nobility have to be like this? They were all perverts who, in a more moral age, would have been taken to either the guillotine or the pyre.

From a brother who got off on humiliation, either his or others', to a pair of half-sisters whose method of showing affection was most definitely not sisterly, his entire social class were degenerates.

Well, not everyone was a degenerate. There was one person in the Imperial line he respected – Odysseus.

The first son of the Emperor was a decent man. He never tried to peek at a woman changing or had wandering hands. He didn't play chess where there pieces were people dressed in latex gimp suits. He didn't expose himself to people. He certainly didn't revel in groping a married woman in front of her husband.

Odysseus was just plain decent.

If only he was the Emperor, then the moral decay of the aristocracy would be wiped clean.

"You won't be alone," a female voice said, bringing the prince back to the here and now. "I'll be with you."

"What was that, Nunnally?"

"I have to look after you, Lelouch," the brown-haired princess smiled reassuringly.

Nunnally had share her father's concerns about Lelouch's lack of development. He might have been older than her by ten minutes, but he was so far behind her when it came to intimate relationships, he might as well have been a monk in a silent order.

The female twin had decided to support her family's plan when she'd heard it, remarking, "I can deal with him not wanting to sleep with a family member, but not wanting to sleep with anyone is where I draw the line."

Nunnally saw him tense up. "I said 'look after you', not 'look at you in the shower'," she sighed.

"Sorry," Lelouch replied, looking ashamed that he'd assumed the worst in his twin sister. Though, to be fair to the hapless prince, his sister had wanted to wash his back during his baths.

"It will be good for you to experience new cultures and new ideas," Marianne vi Britannia opined. "The problem is that I'm unable to stay with you."

"But Mother…"

"I know, I want to go to Japan for an extended trip, too," the consort smiled sadly. 'Those shared outdoor baths they have sound brilliant!'

Marianne vi Britannia had learned that voicing certain things around her son made him incredibly uncomfortable. Nunnally though? She like to hear about how her nipples were showing through her dress during a gala dinner or how she'd walked in on the Emperor while he was balls deep in one of his other consorts.

'So odd how they can be twins from the same father and yet be so very different…'

* * *

"There are two news students in my class," Suzaku Kururugi said excitedly. "A girl and a boy."

"That's nice, son," Genbu Kururugi said, only paying his son the bare minimum of attention.

"They're brother and sister."

"I see they like to keep siblings in the same class at your school," that busy man said, not looking up from his papers.

Suzaku frowned. He couldn't remember a day when his father hadn't brought his work home with him. He decided that he would tell his busy parent one last fact about his school day before leaving to finish his homework.

"His name is Lelouch vi Britannia."

"Britannia?" Genbu repeated. "The transfer students are Britannians?"

"Yeah, her name is Nunnally vi Britannia," Suzaku added, thankful that his father was now paying him attention.

Genbu blinked, as he repeated the names in his head. Where had he heard those names before? He turned his attention to the computer on his desk and searched for the names he'd been given.

A moment later, his eyes widened. 'No… it can't be.'

"Suzaku, are these the your new classmates?" the senior Kururugi asked, turning the screen to show two Britannian children with an important-looking man.

"Yes! That's them! How did you find their photo so quickly?"

Genbu smiled. "It's not important right now. What is important is that you make friends with them. They're new to the country and it's a big change for them to live in a different culture."

"They do seem a little nervous about things…" Suzaku confirmed. "OK, Father, if you want me to be their friends, I'll speak to them in the morning."

"You're a good boy, Suzaku. Now, go finish your homework, I need to finish mine."

* * *

The following day, Lelouch was still feeling nervous about staying in this new land. While he was smart and had started to learn some Japanese, he was grateful for the spoken English of the boy who had approached him with an outstretched hand.

"I'm Suzaku Kururugi," the boy smiled.

"Lelouch vi Britannia," the prince smiled back and shook the offered hand. "This is all… very different to what I'm used to."

"How is it different?"

"It's… well, I know it's Japan and not Britannia, so obviously everyone's speaking Japanese, but even if we ignore that, it's still different. The adults aren't…" Lelouch trailed off as he realised that he might be jinxing things. "I mean, my school was different. I didn't have as many classmates, for a start."

"I see," Suzaku replied. He wasn't quite sure what to make of his new acquaintance's words, despite leading his class in conversational English. "English has a few strange terms."

"Yeah. It's got a complicated history as languages go. I would say 'at least you've got an idea of how to read something' when compared to kanji, but then I remember that slough, trough, plough, through, though and thorough all end in o-u-g-h yet still have different pronunciations."

"Why do we do this to ourselves?" Suzaku asked, recalling the work he had to put in for his kanji tests. "Why can't we have simpler languages?"

"Because of our histories. If we remove our histories, good and bad, we lose who we are," the prince answered. "At least, that's what my father said."

"I think my father would agree with that," the Japanese boy smiled.

* * *

In the year since he and his sister had arrived in Japan, Lelouch had struck up a strong friendship with Suzaku Kururugi. The pair had briefly mentioned having important fathers, but never expanded upon the details.

It felt… wrong to bring up emotionally, and in the case of the Britannian boy, physically distant parents when they could be having more fun exploring the local woods and teaching each other the finer points of their respective cultures' etiquette.

"Suzaku, Nunnally and I have got to go away for a few days," Lelouch said in Japanese. Despite the arrogance of his compatriots, he felt it important to learn the local language. It would help him if something bad was to happen and he was forced to disappear.

"Oh? Is something the matter?"

"Oh no, it's just that my mother is coming to visit. We haven't seen her in a year, and I want to impress her with my language skills. She always said that she'd hope that I'd become a cunning linguist."

"Of course, family is important, after all," Suzaku nodded. His father had often said that, though he seemed to spend less and less time with his family.

Though, the one downside of Lelouch's departure would be Nunnally's absence.

The brown-haired girl had made quite the impact on Suzaku. She was kind, generous and also tried to learn Japanese, though her level was not as advanced as her brother's.

"I think Nunnally likes you," the Britannian said, he cast a speculative glance at his friend. If he liked her back, he would support their relationship.

Suzaku was a kind person who deserved someone nice like Nunnally. Nunnally was nice, but she needed someone else to focus her attention on. Someone who wasn't Lelouch. And who knew, it could strengthen political relations between Japan and Britannia for two important children to get married?

* * *

Three days.

Marianne vi Britannia had been in Japan to visit her two children for three days when things had gone south.

The political situation between Britannia and Japan had been souring in recent months over the topic of Sakuradite and its supply. Such was the rhetoric from the local politicians, that the normally polite island nation was treating the friends and families of its diplomatic guests with scorn and contempt.

A nationalist organisation that struck what it claimed was a blow for justice as it rushed the Britannian embassy, intent on showing the loud foreigners that they weren't so tough, that Japan could fight them to the death.

A team of gunmen stormed the compound just as the consort Marianne vi Britannia was exiting the ambassador's limousine on her way to pick up her children from their school and take them to a nearby onsen, their concealable firearms barking into life and spraying her and the security detail with bullets.

The security detail were overwhelmed by the attack, with most of them being either wounded or killed in the attack.

Things were looking bleak for the Britannians until a VTOL appeared and strafed the Japanese terrorists, cutting most of them down.

A young soldier descended from the vehicle and approached the dying consort. As she tried to console Marianne in her final moments, she felt time pause. It was more than just adrenaline coursing through her veins, there was something strange, supernatural about the encounter.

The official report would state that it lasted barely a few seconds, but to Villetta Nu, this lasted for a lot, lot longer.

* * *

The Japanese ambassador to the Holy Britannian Empire, Kozo Fujiyama, looked at his deputy in horror when the news about the death of Marianne vi Britannia broke. Did the people responsible not realise what they'd done?

Did they really think that Britannia, the largest empire in human history, was just a paper tiger?

"We're doomed."

"We might still be able to get out of this," the deputy said.

"How? By blaming the idiots who killed the Emperor's consort as 'misguided patriots'? Please, even a blind man could see through that excuse,' Fujiyama snapped.

"Two words: Foreign agents."

"Do you really think Europia United or the Chinese Federation would want to start a war between Japan and Britannia and risk the supply of Sakuradite?"

"No, but it might be enough to delay the start of the war," the deputy admitted. "Give us a chance to prepare our forces."

* * *

"Marianne vi Britannia, was killed by a group of Japanese nationalists…" the aide said, shaking nervously.

"She was only in Japan to visit Lelouch and Nunnally…" the Emperor Charles zi Britannia said, his posture deflating. He'd known that the relationship between Britannia and Japan was going through challenging times, but to kill a visiting dignitary was a terrible mistake.

The kind of mistake someone who didn't know what their enemy was capable of would make. Being upset with an enclave of foreigners was one thing. Assassinating a mother who had come to visit her children? That was unforgivable.

"H-how are Lelouch and Nunnally?"

"They're safe and well. They weren't with Marianne when the attack happened."

The Emperor relaxed slightly before casting a glance at his second son, Schneizel.

"Summon the Japanese ambassador," the Prince said, reaching for his glass of water.

"R-right away," the aide said, bowing and leaving the office.

A serious diplomatic incident had occurred and official response from the Japanese would determine the future of their relationship with the Holy Britannian Empire.

Charles looked at his son. "Dismiss the gimp and sit on a normal chair. Our next conversation concerns state security."

The scarlet clad figure bowed respectfully to its owner and walked out of the office.

"The public will demand action," Schneizel commented as he sat in the chair opposite his father. "What do you have in mind?"

"We're going to be declaring war on Japan in the next few hours. Mobilise the Knightmare Frames, we're going to strike like lightning."

"Fast, mobile warfare? It should work, but the Japanese might try to fight to the last man. Their old warrior culture was quite proud, an invading force might rekindle it."

"Fighting to the last man means that they'll be leaving an uninhabited land for us to resettle," the Emperor smirked. "But exterminating them all would be a waste. Some of the Japanese are quite cute."

"True," the Prince nodded as he recalled some of the male models he'd seen in the cultural archives. "So, what will you be telling the Ambassador?"

"That not even all the Sakuradite in Japan will save their country from my wrath. Now go, get ready to conquer Japan."

* * *

"Foreign agents?!" the Emperor demanded incredulously. "You expect me to believe that you allowed foreign agents to infiltrate your country to the point where they could kill my consort? Kill the mother of two of my children? You insult my intelligence, Mr. Ambassador."

"I…" Kozo Fujiyama was lost for words. He knew he shouldn't have gone with his deputy's suggestion, but there no other options he could see that might prevent war.

"You county has insulted me for the last time, Ambassador," Charles glared at the sweating man. "The time for words is over, it is time for war!"

"W-war?"

"Yes, war. Send a message to your masters in Tokyo – Britannia will not stand for this. We will have our revenge."

* * *

The war between Britannia and Japan was only a month long when it became clear how badly mismatched their militaries were.

Elements of the Japanese armed forces were prepared for an invasion from Britannian troops, but they couldn't have imagined just how powerful the Knightmare Frames would be against conventional troops.

The Prime Minister, Genbu Kururugi, looked at the reports of whole battalions being wiped out by the bipedal weapons. They couldn't match them in open battle, so they would have to take on the invaders with more unconventional tactics.

"Guerrilla warfare," he said to his war cabinet. "We supply small arms to civilians. Have them defend their homes."

To many Japanese people, it was better to die on one's feet than to live on one's knees.

"That will take resources out of the army's hands," the Minister of Defence, replied. "Not to mention that most civilians haven't even seen a gun in real life, never mind have any proficiency with one."

A silence descended on the room as the practicalities of arming a civilian populace in the face of an invading army made themselves clear.

"That's not to say that we should dismiss the idea," the Minister quickly added. "We still have a stockpile of obsolete weapons. A few caches here and there could allow for guerrillas to operate in mountainous areas."

"Make it so," Genbu nodded. He was happy that his fellow cabinet members were on board with his defiant stance.

* * *

Suzaku Kururugi stood in disbelief at his father's words. Countless Japanese people were dying every day thanks to this war, and the Prime Minister wanted to extend it by fighting to the last person?

"But Father, what if the Britannians kill all of us?"

"I'd rather die than see my people conquered by a foreign power," Genbu said, dismissing his son's opinion as the immature viewpoint of a child who didn't know anything about the realities of life under the Britannian Empire.

"You're not the one dying in battle though," Suzaku countered. "You're here in a command bunker. You're not living in fear of Knightmare Frames crashing through your home looking for soldiers."

"I can't expect a child like you to understand why we need to fight, Su-" the older Kururugi's words died on his lips as his son struck.

"I'm sorry, Father, but I have to stop you from destroying our people…" the boy wept as he watched the life drain from his father's eyes.

* * *

Back in Pendragon, Charles zi Britannia sat next to his second son, unsure of the comfort level of his seat.

"He's a bit bony, Schneizel," he said shifting his weight on the surface.

"Perhaps, but this is display of power, position and dominance. It's not how you relax after a hard day of running the Empire."

The Emperor shrugged. "Anyway. What can you tell me about Lelouch and Nunnally? I haven't seen them since they went to Japan and Lelouch was reluctant to write to me at the best of times."

"Well, they've not been officially seen since the war started," Schneizel answered. "They're most likely living under a different identity. Do you want me to use my resources to bring them home?"

There was a pause as the Emperor considered his response. Nunnally would be welcomed back to Britannia with open arms, but if Lelouch still hadn't grown out of his "I can't do anything lewd" phase, he'd be ridiculed by the aristocracy. It made sense to cut his losses and discard the boy, but what if Lelouch had started on the path to becoming a true Prince of Britannia?

"No. I'm going to hedge my bets and ignore Lelouch for the time being. If he's dead, he'll have his peace. If he's still alive, there's a chance he might have ignited the fires of his Britannian blood."

"And if he hasn't ignited those fires?"

"List him and Nunnally as missing in the official records," Charles said, rising from the gimp he'd been sitting on. "If his Britannian nature has truly been awakened, it will motivate him to return to us. If it hasn't, then he is dead to me. Nunnally will do her own thing when the time comes and if she wants Lelouch to come back, she'll do the right thing."

* * *

To be continued…


	2. Chapter 02

Non Zero Sum Game

By Lord Raa

* * *

Disclaim-me-do: Dispatch War Rocket Ajax to bring back the beer.

* * *

Chapter 02

* * *

Seven years later, life in Area 11 had settled down to a reasonably calm situation. Yes, there were still security scares with pockets of resistance fighters finding and using the hidden caches of weapons that the last Japanese government had placed, but they were no real threat to the occupying Britannian troops.

Britannian citizens were able to go about their business in relative peace and as such, two schoolboys were about to head back to their school after a sojourn off campus.

"I told you I'd beat him in less than nine minutes," Lelouch Lamperouge smirked as he walked with his friend, Rivalz, to where they had parked the motorbike and sidecar.

"Maybe, but we're gonna be late if we don't get a move on," the blue-haired youth replied as he prepared the straps on his helmet.

A nearby public TV screen showed an announcement from the Viceroy of Area 11, Clovis la Britannia, causing the two friends to stop in their tracks.

"¬To all my imperial subjects! Including of course the many cooperative Elevens who choose to serve the empire of Britannia! Do you not see my pain? My heart was ripped from my chest only to be torn apart! The remnants are filled with rage and sadness!

"¬However, as ruler of Area 11, I will not tolerate terrorism of any kind! Because the battle we fight is a righteous one, a virtuous battle to protect the well-being of one and all! Now then, everyone! I would like you to join me in observance of the eight who died for justice, in the line of duty.¬"

"You know, I don't like him," Lelouch said, clearly unimpressed with the blonde man's theatrics. It was an act.

The truth of the matter was that Lelouch actively disliked the Viceroy of Area 11, though for reasons other than his flamboyant antics when addressing the public.

"He does seem a bit over the top. But you know what the nobles are like," Rivalz shrugged. He glanced at his watch. "Crap, look at the time, we're going to be late!"

The black-haired boy nodded and fastened his own helmet before taking his seat in the sidecar. "Let's ride!"

A moment later, the sidecar sped off to Ashford Academy.

* * *

The mission had gone well at first. But now, thanks to the inability to stick to the plan, the truck that contained poison gas was being followed by the Britannian army.

"Thanks a bunch, Tamaki!" a redheaded young woman cursed as she saw the pursuing vehicles. "Why can't he ever stick to a plan?"

"Because no plan ever survives contact with the enemy," Nagata answered sarcastically as he made his way through the traffic. He turned to give his accomplice a brief smile before returning his attention back to the road. During that second of distraction, he missed the motorbike and sidecar passing through the blind spot to his left as he was about to turn off.

"Shit!" the man exclaimed when he nearly took out two students on a motorbike and sidecar.

Unable to make the turn he wanted when he wanted, the truck forced its way down the exit road, leaving a trail of paint on the concrete barrier and horrible screech in people's ears.

"Ouch," Rivalz winced. "Was that our fault?"

"I don't think so," Lelouch shrugged. He looked over his shoulder to see the rogue truck veer off the slip road and into a derelict building. "Wait, why are we slowing down?"

"I…. I don't know. Let me take a look."

Rivalz dismounted and started to inspect the engine of his bike. "Damn it, it's the power line."

Traffic slowed to a halt as the crowds flocked to see what had happened.

"Was that a drunk driver?"

"Could be. He was going a bit fast."

Despite all the comments from the witnesses and increasing crowd, Lelouch couldn't help but notice that no-one seemed to calling for help. "I think that someone might be hurt. I'm going to take a look."

"But we're going to be late!" Rivalz protested.

"People could be hurt!" Lelouch countered, rushing to the crash site.

* * *

Kallen Kozuki been the first to wake up from the crash.

"Nagata!"

"Kallen. Don't worry about me, I'll get my revenge on those bastards!" Nagata insisted. His defiant expression was undermined by the blood he was coughing up.

"But…"

"Even if I get out of here, I'm not going to make it. You can still get away and fight another day."

"I… Fine," Kallen said, tears filling her eyes.

"Get out of here, I'll activate the self-destruct when the Britannians get here."

The redhead nodded and climbed out of the wrecked vehicle.

* * *

In the back of the truck, Lelouch was beginning to have second thoughts about his brilliant idea to save the people who'd crashed their truck. He'd been unable to find his way out of the back after not seeing anyone in the hold.

He heard the sound of someone climbing out of the cab and sighed.

'They didn't need my help after all.'

It was then that a melodic voice sounded in his head. "I've found you at last."

"You in the truck! Come out with your hands up!"

"Found?" the Britannian asked. "Wait, who said that?"

Lelouch was now worried that he'd hit his head when trying to get into the truck. Hallucinations were the last thing he needed now that the Britannian Army had arrived.

Nagata stirred in the cab of the truck. "They're here… I can take some of those bastards with me…"

With his last breath, Takeshi Nagata activated what he thought was the trigger of the poison gas he'd stolen.

Inside the cargo compartment, the spherical device opened, and while a vapour was released, it wasn't nearly as noxious as the freedom fighter had hoped.

"A… girl?" Lelouch muttered when he saw the restrained figure in the device. He reached for the gag and pulled it down. "W-who are you?"

"That is not important right now," the green-haired woman replied. "What is that I can get you out of here alive."

"Alive?"

The Britannian soldiers wrenched open the access hatch and ordered anyone inside the truck to come out slowly with their hands up.

"I can help you, but you'll have to do something for me."

Lelouch looked back forth between the open hatch and the woman he'd found.

"You have five seconds to come out of there before we throw grenades in!" a soldier shouted.

"We best do what they say," the woman said, offering a weak smile.

"Right… Yes, we're coming out now," the Britannian boy said slowly lifting the curvy woman to her feet and up to the hatch. "Don't shoot!"

Outside the truck, the soldiers looked to their squad leader. He smirked back at them. "Don't worry, we won't shoot."

The green-haired woman climbed out of the truck and raised her hands above her head.

"There's another person in there. He's coming out now," she said.

Lelouch slowly climbed out of the truck and turned to see ten men pointing their weapons at him.

"Looks like you picked the wrong day to skip school, boy," the squad leader smirked as he aimed his pistol at the schoolboy.

"Skip school? I was kidnapped by these Elevens!"

"Kidnapped?" the lead soldier asked sceptically.

"Yeah, with with my girlfriend," Lelouch lied effortlessly as he gestured to the green-haired girl to his left. "We were walking to school this morning when they struck."

"Boss, there has been chatter about Elevens planning to kidnap Britannians, so it's possible," a soldier whispered to his NCO. "And they do make a cute couple."

The squad leader sighed. While there was something incredibly suspicious about this "couple", he had a duty to ensure the next generation of Britannians would happen. His people had a destiny, after all.

"What's your name, boy?"

"Lelouch Lamperouge."

"Well, it's your lucky day, Lelouch Lamperouge, you and your girlfriend are free to go. But first, you have to prove that she's your girlfriend. Kiss her."

Lelouch frowned. Kissing a girl? Well, there was nothing wrong with that if the two of them were in a relationship. Hell, any one of his brothers would probably jump at the chance to kiss someone as pretty as this girl. Well, maybe not Schneizel or Odysseus. But his point would still stand up as a generalisation.

But they weren't in a relationship. In fact, they'd met just moments before and he hadn't even asked her name.

But what other option did they have?

"O-of course," the young man said turning to face the curvy young woman. "Forgive me for being so forward, my love."

The green-haired woman blushed as she leaned in to kiss the boy she'd been keeping tabs on. Their lips touched and reflexively, she reached out and placed a hand on Lelouch's hip.

The Britannian schoolboy tensed, the contact making his mind flash back to his days in the Britannian court.

There was a lot of inappropriate touching back then, even amongst the servants of the lower ranked nobles.

The squad leader wasn't sure about the two "lovebirds" and their display of affection, but he could certainly understand how the traumatic experience of being kidnapped would dampen their ardour. Especially since she'd been dressed in a straitjacket.

'Who knows what those degenerate Elevens were going to do to her,' he thought angrily. "Right, you take care of your girlfriend. Be sure to be gentle as you walk her home."

The soldiers smirked at the joke before leaving to track down the rest of the terrorists.

"Sorry about kissing you," Lelouch apologised when they were out of earshot of the soldiers.

"It was fine. Kinda nice, really," the girl smiled wistfully.

"I don't even know your name…"

"Call me C.C., Lelouch."

Lelouch nodded. At least he knew the name of the girl he'd kissed. "Let's get out of here."

C.C. felt so disappointed that he hadn't taken her by the hand to lead her away, she found herself unable to talk about making a contract with the Britannian.

* * *

Lelouch was leading C.C. away from the scene when he noticed someone following them. He turned to see the soldier's uniform and weapon.

"Crap."

"Hold it right there!" the soldier demanded.

"I'm raising my hands," Lelouch said as the soldier approached them.

"Who are you?" the soldier demanded. As he stepped closer he gasped. "Lelouch?"

"Suzaku?"

"You two know each other?" C.C. asked, her eyes darting between the two boys.

"Long story," Lelouch answered. "So you're a soldier now?"

"Yes. What's going on? Are you a terrorist?" Suzaku asked the young woman. 'Please don't be a terrorist. Please don't be a terrorist.'

"No, no, in fact I… we were kidnapped by some terrorists. We were trapped in the back of a truck until some soldiers freed us," C.C. said before stepping closer to Lelouch. "We were so scared."

"Well, you're safe now, but you need to get out of here."

* * *

Lelouch Lamperouge had quite the day. He'd found his old friend, Suzaku, alive and well. He'd also found a strange woman and been forced to kiss her by Britannian soldiers.

'Damn it, are all Britannians perverts?' he wondered as he sat down for dinner with his sister.

When Nunnally asked him about his day, Lelouch paused as he tried to best word what had happened. He didn't like lying to his sibling, but how would she react to learning about him being in the middle of a major incident in the Shinjuku ghetto?

'She'd probably be more interested in hearing about the girl I had to kiss…' he mused. "I… I was gambling with some nobles."

"The rest of the student council was concerned that you're spending too much time gambling," Nunnally said. "I know that you think you're being careful, but we are worried about you."

"I'm sorry, Nunnally, I didn't mean to make you worry. I just lost track of the time."

Nunnally was being truthful about her concerns for her twin brother, though they weren't entirely wholesome. She considered the idea that her brother was being hustled and suddenly forced to do lewd things to pay off a gambling debt. It made her smiled as she enjoyed her soup.

'If only he used his gambling skills for things like strip poker… Father would allow us to go back to Britannia.'

It wasn't that Nunnally disliked living Area 11, in fact she quite liked the people and tried to treat them with kindness. It was that they were somewhat broken and dominating a broken person, even subtly and with soft power offended her sense of pride. Worse still, it was no fun.

And her parents had always stressed the importance of having fun with her desires.

The brunette pondered what their mother would think of Lelouch. He'd always been so prudish, even if he was "too young to really understand what was going on" as he'd claimed. But now that puberty had happened to him, perhaps he might start looking at girls as more than just classmates?

As a legitimate prince of Britannia and heir to the throne, Lelouch could have any woman he wanted. Yet, he didn't want anyone. That disinterest in sex was really starting to bother Nunnally. Even the legendarily chaste and pure Odysseus still liked women. There were no indicators that her twin liked boys, either. She wondered if that disappointed their older brother, Schneizel.

'Just have to keep chipping away at it,' Nunnally resolved.

* * *

"Oh yes, I've found him. He's growing up to be a handsome young man," C.C. said.

"Handsome is good, what about manly?"

"I've seen manlier. But then, manliness isn't just being a walking slab of beef and body hair."

"Lelouch was never going to be a champion bodybuilder. He took after my body type, not his father's."

"Good thing, too," C.C. commented. "I always found that much muscle weird. Though, there is one thing that bothers me."

"What's that?"

"He seems really uncomfortable with intimacy. Like he seems offended by the idea of sex."

"Still?"

"Yeah! He didn't even take me by the hand as we escaped the Britannian soldiers. It distracted me to the point where I forgot to make a contract with him."

"What do you think he would have wanted?"

C.C. considered that for a moment. "Normally it's related to something the holder wants. I don't actually know what he wants. We didn't really have much chance to talk."

"He must have a type. You've got to find out what it is. Whether it's a thirsty 'senpai' type or a MILF or whatever. Find out what he likes."

"I was referring to a potential Geass," the green-haired girl chided her conversation partner. "But now that you mention it, I want to that myself."

"Let me know when you find out. I'm going to work on something that has the potential to be absolutely delicious."

* * *

In the exclusive Ashford Academy, the Lamperouge twins were attending the latest Student Council meeting. Nunnally was paying more attention to the proceedings than her brother, Lelouch.

"Are we keeping you from something, Lulu?" Milly Ashford asked sarcastically. The blonde girl was the Student Council president and she liked teasing her friends.

"No, I was just thinking about something that happened yesterday," Lelouch replied.

"Oh, did you finally meet someone you're interested in?" the blonde asked, hoping that the famously chaste and pure Lelouch Lamperouge was at last succumbing to the raging torrent of hormones that was human adolescence.

"I… well, she…" the incognito prince trailed off as he realised he'd already said too much. The people around him always seemed unnaturally interested in his intimate affairs, from his parents and siblings to his peers at Ashford. It was creepy enough that almost everyone he knew was perverted, having them want to know his business just made things worse.

'A girl?' Nunnally thought, her face lighting up. Sure, there were a number of potential problems with this girl, from her being a gold-digger to someone who wanted to murder Britannians, but a girl catching her brother's attention was a starting point that could be built upon. 'So there was more than just gambling yesterday…'

Shirley Fenette also caught the revelation and frowned. She liked Lelouch, he respected a person's personal space and dignity. He never started at girl's chest or tried to peek up her skirt and he never tried to brush up against anyone in the corridor. At first he'd been distant, but during his time on the Student Council, he'd warmed up considerably and was now quite sociable.

Of course, Shirley had felt that it was her hard work that had cause this thaw in her fellow council member. She didn't need someone coming and seducing her man after she'd finally gotten him to the point where he could accept a her advances without feeling too uncomfortable.

Or even better, start to make lewd advances towards her.

'If only you're be forward, Lulu…'

Rivalz blinked. He'd been with Lelouch up until he went off to check on the crashed truck. How could he have met someone in that short space of time? "Good joke there, Lelouch! You almost had us fooled that you'd met a girl that you 'liked' liked."

"Yeah, it was a joke," the chaste youth laughed nervously. Why did things have to be like this for him? Why couldn't he have had a normal life where people weren't falling over themselves to learn about what kind of person he liked or what he wanted to do with a girl?

The girls were unconvinced, but dropped the matter to maintain the polite fiction that he had made a joke about getting a girlfriend.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Nunnally was still thinking about the girl that her brother had "joked" about meeting. There was a lot riding on what may have been just a slip of the tongue.

She saw three options: One, it was a legitimate communications failure of her brother. Possible, but unlikely given how careful Lelouch was with his wording.

The Eleventh Prince had learned the hard way that words could be misinterpreted, having been disgusted by the way nobles had turned his part in an innocent conversation into "disgusting, innuendo filled comments."

Two, that it was a complete fabrication. Lelouch was smart enough to come up with a lie about meeting someone to get people off his back, but he wasn't prone to being dishonest on a regular basis. A little misdirection during a game of chess or poker was one thing, but him outright lying about this felt wrong as it might ruin a young woman's reputation.

Nunnally had seen the effect concealing the truth about their identity had taken on the young prince. He'd almost overcompensated by being truthful in other matters. Often to the detriment of Nunnally's attempts to pair him off with a girl.

The third and final option was that this was an unguarded moment that finally signalled some progress with Lelouch's sexual development. If that was the case, then there was a chance that they would be able to return to Britannia and take their rightful places in the imperial court.

The brunette pondered the options she'd outlined. She decided that she liked the third possibility the best. Even if this girl was as vanilla as Odysseus, it gave her hope for returning to her family.

But how should she proceed? What were her options? Forcing things like this with Lelouch would backfire, causing this tiny bit of progress to be wiped out. She had to learn more about this girl; it would give her more insight into her brother's preferences.

Did she have big breasts? Did she have a "delicious flat chest"? Were her abs so well defined that you could grate cheese on them? Did she have an ass that could stir the dead? Was she 15IBRC certified? If so, that would make her easy to track down through government records.

Nunnally's face dropped as a thought occurred to her. "What if she's hideous?"

The idea that a Britannian prince would settle for someone facially inept was ridiculous. But Lelouch was different to most of the Imperial family. He'd never really shown any interest in intimacy, so perhaps he could be rebelling against his heritage by settling for an ugly person?

No. From music and poetry, to paintings and sculpture, Lelouch has always shown impeccable taste when it came to aesthetic things.

"She has to be at least cute, if not pretty," the princess mused.

Turning her attention back to her notebook, Nunnally wrote a comment that this potential girl was at least conventionally attractive. That left body type and personality.

A signal sounded, indicating that a message had arrived.

'Who's sent me a message at this time of night?' Nunnally's eyes widened as she saw who the sender was. "Oh yes!"

* * *

Lelouch looked forlornly at his text book. Was this how it was going to be for him now? A life in exile?

He didn't mind not being in the Britannian court – that wretched hive of degeneracy was not missed in the slightest, though he did wonder if it was right for Nunnally to remain so far away from home. His twin had always been a better fit in Britannian society, and maybe it would be better if she went back to Pendragon without him?

The young man let out a sigh. No, it wouldn't really work – Nunnally wanted to be close to him.

'At least she doesn't want to try anything with me,' he thought, looking for the silver lining.

Lelouch's thoughts turned to his adopted home. Area 11 was pleasant enough, though it had hurt him to learn that it was the death of his mother by locals that had sparked the war and subsequent annexation of the archipelago.

The execution of the criminals responsible had provided him with a measure of justice, though he wondered how they could have acquired the weapons and intelligence necessary to pull off such an audacious attack.

Area 11 was the source of 70 percent of the world's Sakuradite production, making it a strategically important part of the world. It made sense for the Empire to seize the Sakuradite as without securing that production capability, Britannia's Knightmare Frames couldn't be produced at their current rate.

The Empire just needed an excuse to invade. But could his father have really sacrificed a beloved consort as a part of his scheme?

Lelouch reasoned that he was expendable. As a "shameful excuse for a Britannian prince", he'd half expected to find himself having an "accident" during his last weeks in Pendragon. Being used as a pawn in his father's expansion plans made perfect sense.

Even Nunnally being sacrificed made more sense than Marianne the Flash: A mother's loss would bring down a righteous fury upon the Japanese.

And yet, the killers only took out their mother, not them as well.

Why?

Was there more to this? Was it just a coincidence that his mother had been killed before she could have picked them up on their planned hot springs trip?

The criminals had claimed to be acting alone, but there was no way they could have gotten close enough to strike without some assistance. There were rumours that "foreign agents" had supported them, but there was no evidence and the EU and Chinese Federation both strenuously denied the claims.

The Emperor and the Prime Minister both agreed that the claims were ridiculous – everyone knew that there would be a reaction to the killing, and the supply of Sakuradite was too important to risk Britannia storming Japan like it did.

No, if there was another factor in play, it was likely Britannian. But who would do that? Who could do that?

It was a conundrum. One that getting to the bottom of would allow him to exercise his mind and put his intellectual prowess to the test.

"A conspiracy, eh?" Lelouch asked rhetorically, a small smile forming on his lips.

Yes, this was what the prince needed. Maybe it would come to nothing, but at least it would allow him to focus on something wholesome. Well, wholesome when compared to the usual debauchery of the Britannian nobility, at least.

* * *

The following morning, Nunnally approached her brother with a serious look on her face.

"Nunnally? Is something the matter?"

"Lelouch… I… I've done something…" the brunette said, tears welling up in her eyes. "I only wanted to go home…"

Lelouch felt awful as he realised just how selfish he was being. His new plan to investigate his mother's death, his insistence that they assume a new identity while they lived in a foreign land. All of it was for him. Yes, their abandonment of their lineage had kept them safe, but it was now making Nunnally unhappy.

"I… I'm sorry," he said, looking down at his feet in shame. "I never wanted you to be unhappy. I just… I was just thinking about what I wanted."

Thinking about oneself like that was natural for Britannian nobility and their pursuit of pleasure, but Lelouch had always considered himself above that. His lack of consideration for Nunnally just highlighted how wrong he could be about such things.

Lelouch wondered if he should just cut all ties with the Britannian court. He'd already considered himself to be a commoner, so it wouldn't that big of an adjustment for him. He could let her go back to Pendragon on her own.

"Wait, you said you've done something… Nunnally, what have you done?"

"I… I've been sending messages to Euphie," Nunnally admitted. "She wants to see you again."

"Euphie?"

He liked Euphie, but her knowledge of his still being alive complicated matters for the hidden prince. His half-sister, Princess Euphemia li Britannia, was kind and cute, but she was also a Britannian noble, and thus, guided by her desires. Her sister, Cornelia was exactly the same, only she was a soldier and could easily overpower him if she caught up with him.

"I'd rather you hadn't done that, Nunnally," Lelouch sighed. "Euphie will want to take us back to Pendragon."

"She does, but she said that she's coming over here to see you first. She was worried about you. Still is, really," the female twin admitted. "I think that she's upset that you're different."

"Different? In that I'm not a degenerate who forces themselves on another?"

"That's not what we mean! It's more that you don't have any desires. Even getting a girlfriend would make things better," Nunnally explained. "What happened to that girl you mentioned yesterday?"

"Her? Well… I only met her briefly," Lelouch admitted. "She said her name was C.C.."

"That's an unusual name."

Further discussion about Lelouch's potential girlfriend was cut off by Sayoko Shinozaki approaching the twins and announcing a visitor.

"Her Royal Highness, Princess Euphemia li Britannia is here to see you both."

"Crap…"

* * *

To be continued…


	3. Chapter 03

Non Zero Sum Game

By Lord Raa

* * *

Disclaim-me-do: It puts the conformal coating on or else it gets the green death again.

* * *

Chapter 03

* * *

"LULU!"

That was the only warning Lelouch got before he found himself tackled to the floor by a pink-topped bundle of energy.

"E-Euphie… C-can't breathe…"

Princess Euphemia li Britannia was a kind person, one who Lelouch had gotten along well with during their formative years. However, things had taken a more sinister turn when she'd started to approach puberty.

The pink-haired princess had talked to her elder sister, Cornelia, about having certain feelings. Cornelia, naturally, assumed that they were for her.

Why wouldn't they be? She was kind to her sister, she excelled at piloting a Knightmare Frame and she had the soft comforting chest that could make the young girl's bad dreams and feelings fade away.

But the truth of the matter was that these feelings were for Lelouch. No-one really objected, after all they might finally kick-start Lelouch's own desires.

But their plan to double-team the young prince backfired and he fled the palace, not wanting to sully his sisters.

Instead, they sullied each other on the fine cotton sheets, their bodies slick with sweat and saliva from licking and sucking at each other's sensitive areas.

Every so often afterwards, the sisters would try to corner Lelouch in the garden in the hope that he might finally reciprocate their lustful intent.

Lelouch always managed to find a way out and escape their clutches, leaving then to their own passionate embrace, but now his luck had run out.

Judging from the power behind the tackle and in the bone-crushing hug, Euphie had been training in the intervening years.

"Sorry," the princess apologised after looking at the face of her brother. She climbed off the hapless youth. "So, when were you going to come back to me? We all thought you were dead!"

Lelouch winced at the anger from his half-sister. "S-sorry. We had to hide."

He rose to his feet and dusted himself off.

"But now you don't need to hide!" the pink-haired princess beamed. She turned her attention to Nunnally and embraced her. "So, has he found anyone...?"

"No," Nunnally replied, shaking her head. "There isn't anyone yet."

Euphemia frowned. "So why haven't you found anyone yet?" she asked, jabbing a finger into Lelouch's chest.

"Ow, stop that. I've been too busy. I'm vice-president of the Student Council," the prince replied.

"That means he's the president's assistant, not in charge of the Student Council's vices," Nunnally added with a sad look on her face.

It was then that another visitor strode into the room.

"So, Lelouch vi Britannia is still alive?" a tall woman asked rhetorically.

"Cornelia…" the twins said in unison, though their feelings about the reunion were polar opposites.

Nunnally was glad to see her half-sibling. The purple-haired princess was as striking as ever in her uniform; the heels on her boots amplifying her long legs, while the tight fit of her tunic emphasised her breasts. Breasts that Nunnally found herself burying her face in.

"Sorry, Cornelia…" the wayward princess apologised after a little motorboating.

"That's alright, most people want to do that at least once," the Knightmare Frame pilot winked playfully. "Now, let me look at what kind of young man the boy who managed to capture Euphie's heart has grown into."

Cornelia reached out and held Lelouch by the chin, appraising the young man's complexion, jawline and general health. "Could do with some more vitamin D and exercise, but that's something we can work on. I'm glad to see that you're well, Lelouch."

"Thanks," the prince replied.

"Don't be like that. We're not here to drag you away, kicking and screaming."

"You're not?"

"No!" Cornelia insisted. "We're here because we're worried about you. It's not natural for you to be so distant with people. You need to more friendly."

"I've got plenty of friends!" Lelouch insisted.

"How close are you to them?" Euphemia asked. "Like circle-jerk close or just sharing a girl close?"

Lelouch's face turned stony. "Close like normal classmates. Why do you have to make things lewd?"

"Because lewd is fun," Nunnally answered for the whole Britannian society. "If you'd be willing to just try, you'd know that."

"I can't just start doing things with a girl I'm not in a relationship with!" the prince insisted defiantly.

His siblings looked thoughtful for a moment before turning to each other for a conspiratorial huddle.

"He said that he needs to be in a relationship before he can do lewd things… How much time did he spend with Odysseus?" Cornelia asked.

"Could be worse," Nunnally countered. "He could have completely sworn off intimacy."

"True," Euphemia agreed with a nod. "But if he needs to be in a relationship, you know what that means, right?"

The trio of woman smiled in unison. "Arranged marriage!"

"We can test the candidates," Cornelia said, licking her lips. "We have to make sure that they're compatible with our darling brother."

"Yes, we can dress them up. Make them jump through hoops…" Nunnally grinned as she considered the power that this little contest would give her over the local Britannian population.

"We have to keep him safe," Euphie said, concerned for her brother. Her cheeks coloured as she added, "I might need to chaperone their dates."

The conspirators nodded, then turned to face a now panicking Lelouch. "W-what are you planning?"

"We have come to a decision," Cornelia said, taking the lead. "We think you need to make some changes in your life. So we are going to be screening the local population for potential girlfriends."

"As the Elevens might put it, 'no waifu, no laifu,'" Nunnally added. "It would make everyone feel better if you agreed to this plan."

"We want you to be happy," Euphemia smiled. "Don't worry, you won't have to do anything until you're in a committed relationship. So there won't be any dogging or going to brothels."

"Plan? Plan? You think this is a plan? Judge girls until you find one I might like and then force us to date?"

"Either that or I drag you back to Pendragon in chains," Cornelia smirked. "You wouldn't be able to get very far in leg-irons."

Euphie licked her lips at the though of a restrained Lelouch at her mercy. "Yes… chains…"

"As we said, you won't be forced to do anything you're not comfortable with," Nunnally said with all sincerity. "Not even hand-holding."

"I have your promise on this? No-one will force me to do anything I don't want to?" Lelouch asked, a nauseous feeling growing inside him.

"No-one will be trying to force Lelouch vi Britannia to do anything he doesn't want to," the female twin insisted. "You just have to talk to the girls who get past our screening."

"Wait, I've got to be a prince again?"

"A bit strange for two princesses to be so interested in the love-life of a commoner, don't you think?" Cornelia's smirk had remained throughout these negotiations. "Now come on, dear brother, agree to our terms and you can even stay here and keep going to Ashford Academy instead of moving into the palace. We might need to arrange some more security, though."

Lelouch wanted to flee this whole mess. But where could he go? He didn't have the resources to escape Area 11 and head to a safe country alone. And even if he did, he couldn't leave Nunnally alone with Cornelia. Not now his twin sister was a young woman.

No, running away wasn't an option.

"Alright. I'll do this but you promised me that you wouldn't force anything."

"Group hug!" Euphemia declared with a huge smile.

The last thing Lelouch remembered before passing out was being smothered by breasts.

* * *

Clovis la Britannia, viceroy of Area 11, felt a little put out that his sisters hadn't made visiting him their first order of business. It had been a while since he'd last seen Cornelia and Euphemia, but they'd always been on good terms.

"So what was so important that it couldn't wait before you came to see me?" he asked, though the petulance it was false.

"I found Nunnally!" Euphie replied.

"Nunnally? Does that mean…"

"Yes, Lelouch is alive and well, too," Cornelia added. "He's still as prudish as ever, but we did talk him into taking part in a selection process for an arranged marriage."

"That's good," Clovis smiled. "So, when are they moving here?"

"They aren't," the purple-haired princess answered. "I know it's a security concern, but if Lelouch is forced to live here, he'll get upset by your swinging parties. He takes after Odysseus far too much."

Clovis shook his head in disbelief. How could anyone disagree with the importance of sharing? Whether it be a toy, Sakuradite or a woman, sometimes you just had to share. All parents with more than one child knew that lesson.

"Fine," the blonde sighed. "But what about Nunnally?"

"Oh, she's growing up to be a fine young woman," Cornelia smiled.

Euphie nodded. "She wants to appraise potential partners for Lulu with us."

"Excellent! Though, I am a little concerned about security for them if they're not living here. You're a soldier, Cornelia, what would you suggest?"

The elder sister took a moment to think about the situation. "Aside from having a presence on campus, I think that we should put an agent on the inside of the school. Who's in charge of your local military?"

"Jeremiah Gottwald is my go-to man. I'll send for him now."

"Have him join us for dinner," Cornelia said. "Let him know that we want to discuss a close protection mission. We might as well have him prepared before we talk."

"Efficiency… I like it," Clovis smiled. "Now, let me show you my latest swimsuit collection."

* * *

Jeremiah Gottwald bowed respectfully to the royals before him. He'd worked for the viceroy for the past two years now and had met Princess Cornelia before at official functions, but this was the first time he'd met Princess Euphemia.

"Your highnesses. What can I do for you?"

"I need your expertise on a mission," Cornelia answered. "My brother tells me that you're his go to man in the Britannian Army. I do hope that's not because you're the only one whose name he can remember."

The comment would have stung a less experienced officer. It was common knowledge that Cornelia li Britannia had high standards, it was part of the reason why she was known as the Goddess of Victory amongst man of the troops she commanded.

"I live to serve the Holy Britannian Empire," Gottwald replied sincerely. "You wanted to discuss a protection detail?"

"Yes. What's the most recent rumour you've heard?" the purple-haired woman asked.

"I try not to listen to rumours," Gottwald admitted. "It's easy to be distracted by idle gossip."

"But by ignoring it completely, you risk missing out on important details," Cornelia countered. "Prince Lelouch and his sister, Princess Nunnally have been found. We need to have an increase in the visible security, but I want a more subtle element to this, too."

"Now that you mention it, someone did mention a story about the Ashford Academy," the teal-haired man back-peddled. "What did you have in mind?"

"Surely you must have a young man in the army who could be transferred as a student?" Euphie asked. She quite liked the idea of a cute boy in uniform. Maybe not to fool around with, but there's nothing wrong with having something nice to look at.

"I might have one, but…"

"But what?" Clovis asked.

"I, well, the candidate that fits in the most, at least age-wise, is… Well, he's an Eleven," Jeremiah answered. "I don't think that we should trust an Eleven as a bodyguard to a prince and princess."

It was not an unreasonable concern from the margrave, though the young man in question had an exemplary record, not only amongst all the honorary Britannians, but even when compared to some of the Purists in the Britannian army.

"That's a fair point," Cornelia conceded, though she made a mental note to investigate the youth in question later. "Could we plant a teacher in the Academy?"

"Technically, yes, but… Wait, I know who we could assign this task to. She's a good soldier, someone I trust with my life."

'She?' the sisters thought in unison. They turned to each other and nodded.

"What's she like?" Euphie asked, becoming quite enthusiastic about this idea.

"Well, Villetta Nu is a skilled Knightmare Frame pilot, she's scored well in hand-t0-hand combat and she's a crack shot," Gottwald answered.

Cornelia nodded, the name faintly ringing a bell. "We'll meet her in the morning."

* * *

The Ashford Academy's student council was called for an important meeting before school started.

"There's something I need to tell you all," Lelouch said, a terrible feeling of dread filling him.

"What's that? You've asked that girl from the other day out?" Milly teased.

"No… I…" the vice-president took a deep breath. "I'm… My name isn't Lelouch Lamperouge."

'He isn't…' The president's eyes widened. She looked at his sister, who just nodded once. 'He is! Holy crap!'

"What is it?" Rivalz asked. He was curious as to what could make his normally relaxed friend so tense when a girl wasn't in close proximity or making inappropriate comments.

"I'm…" Lelouch sighed. "I'm Lelouch vi Britannia, Eleventh Prince of the Holy Britannian Empire. Nunnally is my twin sister, Nunnally vi Britannia."

The council erupted and a barrage of questions came flying towards the twins.

"Is this a joke?"

"Why didn't you tell us the truth sooner?"

"Why the deception?"

Milly remained calm. She knew the real truth and had from the beginning, though she was surprised that Lelouch would admit his true identity so freely. 'He must know what kind of trouble he's getting himself in for with this. So why now?'

"We're sorry for not telling you the truth, but we had to hide who we really were when the invasion started," Nunnally explained. "If the Japanese had known we were living here, they would have used us as hostages."

Kallen was about to insist that they wouldn't have, when Nina Einstein asked her question.

"Can we meet Princess Euphemia?"

"Yes," the female twin smiled. "You'll all get to meet our sisters, Euphie and Cornelia."

Lelouch shot his sister a dirty look, but didn't press the matter. "So yes, we are that Prince Lelouch and Princess Nunnally. Things shouldn't change too much other than there will be more security around the school for a bit. At least until we graduate."

Shirley looked at the boy she had a crush on. Almost any other boy in the school would have lorded their status over the other students to get them to cater to their every whim, this proved that Lelouch was different, that he was a decent young man.

Of course, this decency had its drawbacks, namely Lelouch's abhorrence of all things lewd.

The swimmer knew that with a simple gesture and a few words, Lelouch would have her until the end of her days.

'If only,' she thought as she wondered what sort of salacious comment the prince might say were they alone together.

"So, can we still call you 'Lulu'?" Milly asked with a smile on her lips.

"Yes, of course," Nunnally insisted. "Isn't that right, Lulu?"

"Oh, I couldn't possibly call a prince by such a familiar name," Nina said, her voice filled with deference.

"You don't have to use our titles, though," Lelouch said. "We are normal people."

'Well, aside from your lack of perversion,' Nunnally thought. She refrained from voicing her opinion, having had enough fun at her brother's expense for now. "So, we thought that we should tell you in person before it gets out amongst the school population."

'They're not the only ones who'll go nuts when they hear the news,' Kallen thought. 'I need to talk to Ohgi and the others.'

* * *

Villetta Nu was summoned to the viceroy's office. She wasn't too nervous, having had meetings with Prince Clovis before. Some of them were even about official business.

The dark-skinned woman quite liked the fashions that the prince created. He had an eye for bringing out a woman's best features.

The relatively relaxed mood Villetta had disappeared when she saw Princess Cornelia li Britannia seated behind the desk in the office.

"Y-your highnesses," she curtsied.

"Take a seat, Miss Nu," Cornelia smiled. "I have a proposition for you."

"You do?"

"Yes, but first I want to get to know you better. Tell me, what are your plans for the future? Do you have a partner?"

* * *

After half an hour's small talk, Cornelia finally brought up the purpose of her visit.

"I need someone I can trust to operate in a close protection security detail for Prince Lelouch and Princess Nunnally. I'm not talking about you being in the room and sweeping it for threats before they walk in, but more I want to have a trusted soldier on site ready to react to any threats and coordinate the appropriate response in the event of a security incident."

"I'd be honoured to accept this assignment," Villetta said, bowing her head. "I'm just a little unsure of why my relationship status is of any relevance."

"I'm also looking for a suitable partner for Lelouch. You're an attractive women, Villetta Nu," Cornelia explained. "You wanted to gain a hereditary rank for any children you had. Not many better ways to get one than becoming an Imperial consort to an heir to the throne…"

That was certainly true. For countless generations political power and influence had ebbed and flowed for families depending on the current sleeping arrangements. And age gaps like the between Lelouch and Villetta weren't unheard of, though, they tended to be with an older man and a younger woman.

The dark-skinned woman considered what kind of relationship she might have with the young prince. He might be kind and decent person, but what about the sex they had? Were it not for his lineage, Villetta would have dismissed their potential sexual encounters as little more than clumsy fumbling.

But a son of Emperor Charles zi Britannia? Surely there would be at least some theoretical knowledge of how to please a woman, if not actual practical experience.

Again, Villetta looked at the picture of Prince Lelouch. He was a handsome young man, surely he already had a girlfriend?

"I know what you're thinking," Cornelia spoke up. "'What about my military career?' 'Surely Lelouch has a girlfriend already?' Well, if you'll permit me to answer the first question with a question: It didn't really harm Marianne the Flash, now did it?"

"True."

"And as for Lelouch's current love life," the Princess reached for the glass of water on her side of the desk. "That's a more complicated issue. I've spoken with his twin sister, Nunnally, and it seems that he's still in a state of sexual dormancy."

"Sexual dormancy?" Villetta repeated. "What do you mean by that? Does he still think that girls have cooties?"

"No, it's more that he disapproves of lewd things."

This certainly complicated matters. Having bad sex with young, but enthusiastic partner was one thing, as they could be taught through practical experience. Becoming involuntarily celibate because your partner hated intimacy was another matter. Villetta wasn't sure she could deal with that in a relationship. As much as she might hate the double standard where a prince might be forgiven for seeking intimacy elsewhere, she knew that if she was to look for another male lover, it would be frowned upon.

Unless, of course, one of these male parties was Prince Clovis la Britannia.

"I know that it seems like I'm trying to set you up with a man who hates the idea of sleeping with someone, but that's not the case. Lelouch takes after his brother, Odysseus, more than any other member of the Imperial family," Cornelia explained. "Lelouch wants his intimacy to matter. He wants a meaningful relationship before he starts fooling around. A little frustrating, but honourable enough."

Villetta nodded. She'd seen her share of wannabe playboys during her academy days, not to mention the stories of the viceroy's parties, so having a high-ranking noble want to have a meaningful relationship was refreshing. She could also see why it would annoy potential love interests.

"I'm willing to accept the undercover protection mission at the Ashford Academy, however, I'm not sure how your plan to have me as a potential fiancée would work."

"We're looking at methods of stimulating an erotic awakening, but having you protect him from unwanted advances and treat him like he's a normal person whose thoughts and feelings matter will help you gain an advantage."

"Until he finds out that he's been manipulated," the darker-skinned woman countered.

"Oh, Lelouch knows that we're considering potential partners for an arranged marriage. It'll be like he's living in one of those amusing little comics that the Elevens love so much," the princess smiled. "But if it doesn't work out between you two, it doesn't work out. I'll still need someone nearby to report on things."

Cornelia could see that the pilot before her was wavering. 'I need to sweeten the deal… I know!'

"It is common knowledge the Emperor rewards excellence. I believe that a promotion would be in order for the someone who managed to keep a prince and princess safe during their time in Area 11."

'Sneaky… But it does give me a fallback position…' "I'm in, I'll protect Prince Lelouch and I'll see what kind of woman he likes."

* * *

Nunnally was taking afternoon tea with her half-sister, Euphemia. The main topic of their conversation was Lelouch.

"How much progress have you made with him?" Euphemia asked. "I was always worried about him being ostracised by the rest of the court."

"It's not gone nearly as well as I had hoped, if I'm being honest with you," Nunnally answered. "Though now he's able to relax around women."

"It's good that he's able to relax around women," Euphemia nodded. She looked wistfully at the tea in her cup. "I… I still think about doing it with him."

"Me too," the twin admitted. She looked around for a moment before leaning in to make a further admission. "Sometimes, I have this fantasy where he's got this power that makes anyone do anything he wants. He 'accidentally' uses it on me and I find myself dropping to my knees to take him my mouth."

Euphie whimpered as she pictured her beloved Lelouch compelling women to suck his dick. If he would use this power on his twin sister, then he'd clearly be capable of using it on a half-sister. Not that it would require supernatural compulsion to get Euphie to fuck Lelouch.

Nunnally reached over to brush some hair out of her sister's face. "I can understand why Cornelia loves you so much, you're so pretty."

"I… I love her too, but… Sometimes, when she's between my thighs, I like to pretend she's Lelouch," the pink-haired princess confessed, her delicate cheeks taking on a heavy blush. "P-please don't tell anyone I said that."

"Only if you promise me that if you win Lelouch's heart, then you'll let me join in."

"Of course you're welcome to join us!" Euphie said, almost embarrassed that her sister could have thought otherwise. "In fact, I want you to stay here tonight. It would be nice for you to spend some time with Cornelia."

"I'd like that, thank you," Nunnally smiled happily. "I'll just let Lelouch know that I won't be home tonight."

* * *

Kallen Stadfeldt was incredibly nervous about the meeting she'd called with the other members of her resistance cell. Things were still too hot in the ghetto after the bungled operation to steal the poison gas. If it wasn't for the important information she had, she wouldn't have bothered them for at least another week.

"Alright, Kallen, what's so important that you just had to contact us now?" Kaname Ohgi asked as he handed his fellow rebel a cup of coffee.

"We've been handed a golden opportunity to strike a blow at Britannia. We've only got royalty studying at the Ashford Academy!"

"Royalty? Who?"

"Lelouch vi Britannia and his sister, Nunnally," Kallen answered with a smile as she picked up her coffee.

The other members of the cell murmured as they discussed what they could do with that information. "We should kidnap them."

"We could get all sorts from the Britannians with those two hostages!"

Ohgi looked up who the two members of the royal family were on an online resource. He had to know how valuable as hostages they could be. "Oh, it's them?"

"What do you mean, 'them'?" Kallen asked. "He's a prince, he's valuable!"

"Not sure that we want to kidnap him and his sister. Do you know what happened to them?" Ohgi asked. "Their mother's killing is what started the war between Japan and Britannia. Kidnapping them might backfire badly."

"But…" the redhead trailed off. It felt wrong to reject something that had been handed to them on a silver platter like this.

"I'm not saying we can't use this, I'm just saying that we can't kidnap twins whose mother was killed while on Japanese soil. Britannia will crack down on us pretty hard. They'll probably send in the troops to slaughter us all."

"So what are we supposed to do?" Kallen asked.

"Seduce him," another voice suggested. "Get him wrapped around your little finger and you'll be able to get him to make things better for all of Japan!"

Kallen laughed. "Seduce Lelouch?"

"What? Is he gay? Do we need to find a man?"

"No, it's just that you'd have better luck trying to convince the Viceroy to stop being Britannian."

"But he's Britannian, they're all perverts!" Shun Yamada countered. When he realised what he'd said, he recoiled and looked away in shame. "I didn't mean it that way. I just… you know…"

The redhead sighed. She knew what her fellow rebel meant, and it wasn't entirely wrong. "I know you didn't mean to offend me, Shun. It's just that Lelouch is… well, he hates lewd things. His sister, she's more like the rest of the Britannians. But that does remind me – Nunnally said we should get to meet their sisters, Euphemia and Cornelia. They might make better targets."

"Maybe. But we'll need to plan this. Nobody do anything until we know more. OK?"

"Yes, boss," the rebels nodded.

"Good. Now, Kallen, I think you should get going before curfew," Ohgi said. He needed to think about this information and what it could mean for the future of Japan.

* * *

To be continued…


	4. Chapter 04

Non Zero Sum Game

By Lord Raa

* * *

Disclaim-me-do: In the name of all things holy, I hope the spandex fashion revolution takes place long after obesity is a thing of the past.

* * *

Chapter 04

* * *

Euphemia li Britannia was brushing her hair before as part of her pre-bed ritual. It was calming for her, it allowed her to relax and sleep better. Not that she expected to get to sleep straight away with both Cornelia and Nunnally sleeping the same bed as her.

"Cornelia, I meant to ask you earlier, but you've been so busy. What's this Villetta Nu person like?" the pink-haired princess asked, handing the hairbrush to her half-sister.

"She's pragmatic about things," Cornelia said, looking at the image of the woman in question. "Quite beautiful, too. Look."

Euphie looked at the flattering picture and nodded in approval before showing it to Nunnally. "What else can you tell us about her? Will she just be acting as a security liaison? Do you think Lulu will like her?"

"Well, we don't know what kind of woman Lulu likes," Cornelia said as she started removing her makeup. "I hope that she does like him. It'd make things easier, but they might not be compatible."

Nunnally finished brushing her hair before changing the topic of conversation slightly. "Cornelia, I was wondering… do you ever think about getting married?"

"No," the purple-haired princess answered almost reflexively. "My heart beats for one person: Euphie."

Euphemia blushed, but said nothing as she returned to brushing her hair.

"But as for why I don't think about getting married, I just don't like having a dick inside me," Cornelia added candidly. "I don't even have a dildo or similarly shaped vibrator."

"But you have had sex, right?" Nunnally asked. "Isn't it supposed to be great?"

"I've done it a couple of times with the few boyfriends I've had, but it just didn't work for me. I got pretty good at hand jobs, but men want more than that," the senior princess replied. "What about you? How far have you gotten with a boy?"

"I… I haven't had a chance to go on proper dates," the brunette answered sadly. "Every boy I try to ask out has some terrible fate befall him that means he has to cancel our date."

"Sounds like Lulu is being overprotective."

"He might be, but even when other members of the Student Council try to arrange something, things go wrong," Nunnally added. "Take Shirley for example, she really likes Lulu, so she has something to gain from me being too busy to interfere in Lulu's love life. But after the boy she suggested I go out with suffered a broken leg, the other boys at school started to see a pattern."

"That's either terrible luck or Lelouch is trying to keep you from being sullied by men," Cornelia mused. "What about dating a girl?"

"I did start looking into that, but none of the girls really did it for me. The few girls that I did think I'd like were too interested in Lelouch or too bitchy once I started to get to know them. Breaking a bitch might be fun and all, but it can be a lot of work for someone who I'd drop the moment Lelouch's sexual awakening started to happen."

Cornelia wrapped her half-sister up in a comforting embrace. "It's things like this that make me glad I have such understanding sisters."

Nunnally nodded. She shifted in her half-sister's arms and moved to kiss the purple-haired princess. "I… I want to do something lewd with you and Euphie…"

"Of course," Cornelia said before slipping her tongue into the brunette's mouth. "For you two, my heart, and my legs are always open."

Nunnally's hands moved to the bountiful chest of the Knightmare Frame pilots, squeezing the soft orbs though the delicate nightwear. She could feel the nipples harden at the attention. "They're so beautiful…"

Euphie looked on with interest. She had always been the more passive partner during her sexual encounters with Cornelia; it had been natural that the older princess had initiated things, she was the one with experience after all. But to see someone younger take the initiative was stirring something within the young woman.

As much as she enjoyed the attentions of her sister over the years, perhaps it would be a nice change to see her being taken care of by another person?

Nunnally kissed Cornelia's throat and neck as she pushed the older princess down onto the bed. The brunette's delicate touch elicited a moan of pleasure as her fingertips circled Cornelia's hard nipples.

"Oooh…"

"Yes, you like that don't you, Cornelia… I like it too. But you know what would be nice?"

The "Goddess of Victory" looked up at her sister with a questioning look on her face.

"Seeing you take Lelouch's hard shaft between these beautiful breasts," Nunnally said as she moved to kiss the soft orb under her right hand. "I bet Euphie would, too…"

Euphemia set down her hairbrush and moved onto the bed. She moved up the negligee to reveal her elder sister's shapely breast and kissed the nipple. After a moment she broke the kiss and confessed her feelings on the matter.

"I want to lick Lulu's seed off you, Cornelia…"

"E-Euphie?" Cornelia asked, unsure of how that revelation made her feel. She loved Euphie more than any other person on the planet and she'd made it her personal mission to make the pink-haired princess happy. But having a phallus inside her had always made her feel uncomfortable, regardless of its size or owner.

"I know you don't like men like that, but if it was Lulu… I mean, it would be different, right?" the pink-haired princess asked, her cheeks coloured by a heavy blush. "And I'd like to… to lick you clean after he's finished inside you…"

The Knightmare Frame pilot felt her reluctance start to melt away at the expression on Euphemia's face, and at the attention her pebble-hard nipples were receiving from her sisters. When she felt two hands slide over her thighs, any reluctance she'd felt had been instantly transformed into a steely resolve: When it came to Euphie, nothing was off the table. Even if it meant being left like a cream-filled dessert.

"I'll do anything for you, Euphie…" Cornelia moaned softly as delicate fingers played with her womanhood.

'Just as planned,' Nunnally thought with a smile. She moved in and kissed Euphie. "I… WE would do anything for you, Euphie. If you need anything, just tell us and we'll make it happen."

The pink-haired princess smiled happily. Her sisters really were the best.

* * *

An exhausted Lelouch collapsed on his bed with a sigh. The day had not been easy for him. When the truth about his heritage becoming public knowledge, he'd been bombarded with questions. The ones about why it he'd been living under an assumed identity had been easily dealt with under the blanket response of "security for me and Nunnally".

The ones about who he was likely to take as his companion to the upcoming festival was a more complicated situation. Initially he'd replied that as a member of Student Council, he was part of the organisation committee and wouldn't have much time to enjoy the events, but some of the more enthusiastic attendees of the school had insisted that they take on some of the workload for him.

It was a transparent attempt to curry favour, but Milly Ashford leapt on the offer and announced that thanks to this generosity Lelouch would now be judging the swimsuit contest.

"We weren't even supposed to be having a swimsuit contest," Lelouch mumbled into his pillow. He'd put his foot down on the matter, declaring it to be exploitative and demeaning to all associated with Ashford Academy. He'd even threatened to resign his position as vice president over the issue.

Shirley Fenette had backed him, as had Nunnally. That his sister supported him on the issue was unexpected, but not unwelcome. It had given him hope that his sister might still grow out of this perverted way of thinking that almost all Britannians had.

To learn that Milly hadn't cancelled the contest, merely kept it a "secret event that would be revealed later" had made him feel a little betrayed. He couldn't really complain though, given his own situation.

"I underestimated just how cunning Milly can be… I won't make that mistake again."

Lelouch let out another sigh when he remembered that his friend, Rivalz, had made an announcement of his own. That there would be a draw for potential dates for the festival. All that was required was a small entry fee and "you could be drawn to be the date of Prince Lelouch vi Britannia!"

Fortunately, Nunnally had announced that some of the proceeds would go to good causes, and that Rivalz wouldn't be as enriched as he had hoped.

'Despite Nunnally's unhealthy interest in my love life, she's a caring person who tries to do the right thing,' the prince thought, feeling slightly better about that particular aspect of his situation.

Rising up to undress, Lelouch lamented that this was the last day of being Lelouch Lamperouge. Tomorrow, everything would be different: There would be more security at school, his freedoms would be curtailed and he wouldn't be able to skip class to go out to hustle the local nobility at chess or poker.

He briefly thought about fleeing in the middle of the night, but dismissed it as something that would upset both Nunnally and Euphie. Not to mention if his escape attempt failed, it would completely restrict his movements and freedoms. He'd be forced to move into the palace with Clovis, if not dragged back to Pendragon.

No, he'd have to take this on the chin.

'But maybe I could work within the system to find out the truth about mother's death?' the prince mused as he finished unbuttoning his shirt. Looking at his reflection in the mirror, Lelouch decided that he would make the most of his situation. "I'll find out the truth, even if it kills me."

* * *

The following morning at Ashford Academy, a motorcade pulled up to the gates causing the assembled student body to look on in interest. As several soldiers stepped from their vehicles to secure the campus, one officer prepared a loud hailer.

"Students of Ashford Academy!" he announced. "I am Jeremiah Gottwald and I am now taking over as Head of Security of Ashford Academy under the orders of the Viceroy of Area 11, Prince Clovis la Britannia and Her Royal Highness, Princess Cornelia li Britannia. Please have your Student Identification ready for inspection. Thank you."

As the soldiers began to move onto the campus, a familiar figure emerged from one of the cars.

"Nunnally? What's going on?" asked Shirley Fenette.

"Oh this? This is something that my sister insisted upon to protect my brother and me," Nunnally replied with a smile. "In addition to the armed guards, we're going to be having a plain clothes security operative in the school."

"But there are so many soldiers…" the swimmer said, concerned that this was a much more dangerous situation than before.

"They're only here for a search and to set up a command centre," Gottwald said, turning to the Student Council members. "Princess Nunnally, I don't wish to be rude, but please can we get inside? I'm not happy about how exposed we are right now."

"Of course, Jeremiah."

As the princess and her friend were escorted into the main building, another figure, one that was quite athletic emerged from one of the other vehicles. She was a dark-skinned woman with light teal coloured hair set in a distinctive high pony tail on the left side of her head. She was handed two bags from the boot of the car by a uniformed man.

"Are you ready to go, Miss Nu?" a woman asked through the rear window.

"I am, Your Highness."

"Good," Princess Cornelia smiled. "Remember that there are secondary objectives for your mission."

Before Miss Nu could reply, the motorcade pulled away.

"Do you need any help there?" a male student asked, drawing the attention of the athletic woman.

"And you are?" she asked, noticing that there were two students there.

"Rivalz Cardemonde at your service, m'lady," the youth answered with a flamboyant bow.

"I'm Villetta Nu and I'm the new gym teacher," the dark-skinned woman smiled politely. She noticed who the other student was and gave a little curtsy. "Your Highness…"

"Please don't be so formal," Lelouch insisted. "I haven't used my title for years."

"But…" Villetta trailed off. She recalled her briefing on the "Lost Prince", how he had taken a dislike to the normal habits of his peers, almost to the point of puritanism. Ironically, this made him stand out as a deviant. Lelouch had gone into hiding soon after the war with Japan had started, discarding his rank and privileges for the relative safety of anonymity.

For many in the Imperial family, that would have been unthinkable. Prince Clovis, for example, loved to use his status to sleep with women that took his fancy. But for Lelouch and Nunnally, this humility was different. From what she'd gleaned from the briefing, Villetta reasoned that Lelouch was happy to remain incognito indefinitely, though it had been Nunnally that had contacted Princess Euphemia about their survival.

Now all that was preventing the pair from taking their place in the court at Pendragon was Lelouch's relationship status. A Britannian prince of Lelouch's age should at least have had one intimate relationship under his belt, if not him being a playboy that had a string of conquests that ran into double figures as had been the case for his father, Emperor Charles zi Britannia.

"If you insist, Mr… Britannia?"

"Call me Lelouch," the prince insisted with a polite smile. Before he could say anything else, some soldiers approached the trio.

"Do you students have your identification handy?"

"Yes," Rivalz said, handing his over for inspection.

"And you?" the lead soldier asked Lelouch.

"I'm dealing with this, thank you, Corporal," Villetta said, smiling before turning to the two students. "Right then, you two, let's get inside to start our day."

"Yes, Miss Nu," Rivalz nodded happily. 'She's so hot… But I can't cheat on Milly with her! But maybe if I was with both at the same time, it wouldn't be cheating?'

The thought of a threesome with the hot new gym teacher and the president of the student council filled the young man's heart with joy and he practically skipped along.

Lelouch, however, was a little more cautious about this situation. Something seemed off to him. Was it something his sisters were plotting again? Was it a plant by one of the local resistance groups? Or was it just Rivalz's gaze drifting over Villetta Nu's body that was unsettling him?

* * *

Kaname Ohgi sat waiting for a response to his his message from the higher ups in the Japanese resistance movement. Having passed on the information that two members of the Britannian Imperial family were attending a local school, he asked for advice about what the next course of action should be. It was the reckless actions of a rogue group that had caused this hesitancy in the former teacher.

He could understand why Kallen would want to use the prince and princess as leverage, but it was a rash move. And rash moves against Britannia had a history of ending badly for the Japanese.

Seven years earlier, an attempt to remove the growing Britannian influence had backfired. The Emperor had declared war almost immediately after learning that the mother of two of his children had been assassinated on Japanese territory.

Japan's defeat in the Second Pacific War had been swift and brutal.

Now it seemed that the children in question were the offspring of the same late Imperial consort, Marianne vi Britannia.

In Ohgi's eyes, that a visiting dignitary would be attacked on Japanese soil by a Japanese group was shameful enough. To act against the children of that same woman would not only be cruel, but would also invite the full wrath of the Holy Britannian Empire.

'Even when Japan had a fully functional military, we were quickly defeated by the Britannians. Unless the Chinese Federation or Europia United were to declare war on Britannia at the same time, we would be finished. The ghettos would look like luxury homes,' Ohgi thought with a sigh.

The successes of his resistance cell were few and far between, with them being lucky that it was only Nagata and a truck that had been lost in their last mission to recover the poison gas. Not that they they had managed to recover any chemical weapons during that operation.

Ohgi yawned. He was tired of trying to lead this resistance cell, there had to be someone better qualified better suited to lead them than he was. Kallen would be a good choice – she was strong, daring and brave. But she was too reckless, too focused on the short-term to help with the plotting.

The others had elected him as head of the cell. If they weren't confident in their own abilities, then who could lead them to the freedom they sought?

There was a noise that signalled that there was new message from the resistance leaders. It was coded, but Ohgi was familiar enough with the encryption to read most of it without reference materials.

"'Incoming mission, prepare weapons for a raid'." The cell leader frowned again. This wasn't quite what he wanted to hear, but he would follow these orders to the best of his ability.

But first, he needed to confirm that he hadn't misinterpreted the message.

* * *

Kallen Stadtfeld was unhappy. In fact, one would say that she hated a lot of things. She hated the increased security on the Ashford Academy campus. She hated her heritage, especially her father. She hated the Britannian occupation. She hated that she'd handed a brilliant advantage to her resistance cell and they'd dismissed using it.

But the biggest thing she hated was that she couldn't do anything about the situation.

"Is everything all right, Kallen?" Nunnally asked, concern on her face.

"What? Nunnally? Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about things. All these soldiers on the campus makes me nervous," the redhead replied.

"Don't worry about them, most of those will be gone by tomorrow morning," the princess smiled. "They're performing a search of the campus today."

"And tomorrow?"

"They'll be scaled back to sentries on the gate and a few patrols on the campus," Nunnally explained. She leaned in to confess something. "I'm not too keen on being around guns, myself."

Kallen nodded, a smile forming on her lips. "So, what are your plans for Lelouch?"

'Oh, she's interested? The Stadtfelds are a noble family… I'm sure that her parents would approve of a relationship with Lelouch,' the brunette mused. "Well, between you and me, we're screening potential candidates for an arranged marriage."

"An arr," Kallen realised that she was speaking too loudly. "An arranged marriage?"

"Yes. Lelouch has said that he won't do anything with someone he isn't in a serious relationship with. My sisters and I are looking for someone suitable," Nunnally replied. "But even then, there's no guarantee that Lelouch will do lewd things with a girl."

The redhead nodded, though she was thinking that this might be her best chance to get close enough to Lelouch to kidnap him.

* * *

At the Viceroy's Palace, Clovis la Britannia was beginning the design of another of his swimsuits at the request of his sister, Cornelia.

"What's the design brief?" he asked. "Sexy? Modest and classy? Brightly coloured to attract attention from all around?"

"Well, it's for Villetta Nu. She's undercover at the Ashford Academy and during their festival, there's going to be a swimsuit contest. I want her to enter at the last minute," Cornelia explained. "So I think that I'm looking for sexy, but not too sexy. I don't need people getting too excited if she's wearing something that barely covers her clitoris."

"What colour are you thinking?" Clovis asked, bringing up a picture of the Knightmare Frame pilot as a reference. He nodded when he saw the figure of the dark-skinned woman. "Yes, she's quite lovely. I think that we'll go with white, as a contrast to her complexion."

Cornelia nodded, having thought along similar lines.

"Side-tie bottoms, too. They're always good," the Viceroy said absently as his digital pencil started to sketch ideas on the workstation. After a moment he looked up. "I'll have a design that you'll approve of by lunch time. Leave me to work."

The purple-haired princess frowned at the way she'd been dismissed by her brother, but her memory of his skill in designing swimwear fashion made her realise that it would be counterproductive to dwell on his poor etiquette any further. She turned on her heel and strode out of the office, confident that her plans for Lelouch would be a success.

As Cornelia walked through the palace corridors, she saw Euphemia looking concerned about something.

"Euphie?"

"Cornelia… I… Can I talk to you about something?" the pink-haired princess asked.

"Of course," Cornelia smiled reassuringly as she opened the door to a small room. She quickly looked inside and saw that it was free. "In here."

After stepping inside, Euphie took a deep breath before explaining her concern. "I'm worried about Lulu."

"Lelouch should be fine, we've put extra guards around the school."

"I know, but… It's not that. I'm thinking that we might have been too hasty about the arranged marriage thing. What if we assumed that Lulu is looking for a girl? What if he's been so distant because he's gay?"

Cornelia considered her sister's line of thinking. She herself loved Euphie above all others, so it wasn't outside the realm of possibility that Lelouch was into men and it certainly explained his reluctance to be intimate with women. "I'm not discounting this, but what makes you think that Lelouch likes men?"

"I… I don't know," Euphie insisted with a blush.

"Really?" the older sister asked as she folded her arms across he chest.

"Well… I… I mean, I just thought that since Schneizel doesn't chase after girls, Lulu was like him or Odysseus."

"There's more to this than just pattern recognition, Euphie. Don't make me interrogate you…"

The squeezing motions of the purple-haired princess's hands brought down the facade of strength that Euphemia had constructed.

"…" Euphemia sighed. "Alright, I'll confess. I… I saw some of the stories that the Elevens like to read."

"The Elevens have their quirks, just like any other people, but what's that got to do with anything?" Cornelia asked.

"Well, I… I'll show you," the younger sister said, leading the soldier away to a library. After a few minutes of searching, she pulled out a small volume. On the cover, it had Japanese writing and the English letters to spell "Sausage Jockeys, Volume 3" written on it.

"This is backwards, Euphie."

"It's how the Elevens read their books. You read right to left, otherwise they have to flip the artwork and everyone's left handed."

"Confusing, but OK," Cornelia said as she flicked to what would normally be the back of the book. She scanned the pages, not seeing anything in particular until about seven pages in, when she noticed that the two characters on the story were one, both male, and two, now undressing. Another page into the story and these characters were jerking each other off.

The older sister looked further, noticing that there were weird censor bars over the genitals. That didn't bother her, in fact as she'd never found penises particularly attractive in the first place, it made the scenes depicted slightly more palatable.

"You see, I was wondering if we should put a soldier in the school to guard Lulu," Euphie said, blushing heavily.

"Maybe," Cornelia said, concentrating on the book in her hands. She could see the appeal of drawn pornography, though it wasn't the same as photographs or seeing things in real life. She frowned when she noticed something off about the characters. "Their hands look weird."

"What?"

"Look, their hands aren't the right size for the perspective. One's huge and the other's normal sized."

"I… I hadn't noticed," Euphemia admitted.

Cornelia handed the tome back. "So you've been reading dirty stories written by the Elevens and now you think that Lelouch might be gay? Well, maybe. I'll tell you what, I'll speak with Jeremiah about assigning that Honorary Britannian. If he's suitable, then we've got another bodyguard near Lelouch and Nunnally. And if he's gay, then it's not our business."

Euphie nodded happily. 'Soon we can all go back to Pendragon and be a happy family again.'

* * *

Jeremiah Gottwald wasn't entirely comfortable with the request that Princess Cornelia had made. Ordinarily, he'd fill any order she personally gave him without hesitation, but this was different. This was relying on an Eleven to guard a Britannian prince.

Even the most decorated of the Honorary Britannians weren't trusted with such important duties, and the one that Cornelia was talking about using was a young man! Yes, he was a prime physical specimen and had shown nothing but loyalty to Britannia, but something bothered Gottwald about this Suzaku Kururugi. And it wasn't just his heritage.

"I am voicing my concern about these orders, Princess Cornelia, but I will carry them out if that is what you want," the Purist said.

"Your concerns have been duly noted, Gottwald," Cornelia said. "But you shouldn't worry too much, you do have Villetta Nu on site right now. This just means that Lelouch can be protected in the changing room."

"I will send for Kururugi now."

"Good."

* * *

It was now lunchtime at Ashford Academy and Kallen Stadtfeld was looking at the message sent to her from her resistance cell. It seemed that the resistance leaders had made a decision about what to do with Prince Lelouch being within striking distance. She frowned as she read and re-read it.

It wasn't that she was unwilling to do what it took to liberate Japan from the Britannians, it was just that she had always imagined that it would be more along the lines of her being martyred in a hail of bullets for her cause.

The redhead sighed as she re-read the message for a fifth time. It seemed that the higher ups in the resistance had made their decision: Striking against Britannia by harming Lelouch or his sister was too risky and therefore out of the question. While she might have initially disagreed with the ruling, she could see the logic and would respect it.

What she didn't didn't like was the second part of the order and how it was demeaning for the men in the resistance to assume that she would go along with it unquestioningly.

'How am I supposed to seduce Lelouch?' she asked herself as she looked at her phone.

Had it been another important Britannian, Kallen might have had more of an idea on how to proceed with this plan. She could talk to them, get to know them, maybe use her feminine wiles to get what she needed. With Lelouch, it was another matter entirely.

How could you seduce someone who thought that seduction was weird? And this wasn't a sexual orientation thing – some of the boys at Ashford had commented on getting to know Lelouch a little better and the two brave enough to ask him out had been rebuffed by him.

Nunnally hadn't been able to help much, either. Not because of any jealousy or spite, but because she hadn't been able to learn more about what kind of woman her unnaturally chaste brother liked.

Kallen noticed that a number of girls were now leaving messages in Lelouch's locker. 'Perhaps I should do that? If it doesn't work, then I've not humiliated myself publicly and I can tell Ohgi that we need another plan…'

* * *

To be continued...


	5. Chapter 05

Non Zero Sum Game

By Lord Raa

* * *

Disclaim-me-do: Humans like cake, telly and blow jobs. They're a bit less keen on busting their arses.

* * *

Chapter 05

* * *

C.C. was fuming. She had a plan. It was an exquisite plan, one that rivalled Emperor Charles zi Britannia's designs for godhood. And now this scheme was looking like it was going to fail.

She had experienced enough in her life to know the truth behind the old military adage about no plan surviving contact with the enemy, so she wasn't shocked that things had gone wrong so quickly.

But what really chafed was that the young man who was supposed to be the lynchpin of her plan had practically ignored her. Had it been any other young Britannian male, they would have been falling over themselves to help her. C.C. knew that it had been just a brief meeting between her and Lelouch, but even so he must have felt something for her, even if it was just sympathy for being a prisoner.

But no, Lelouch vi Britannia hadn't responded to her kiss. He hadn't even taken her hand to lead her away from those soldiers! Was there ice water flowing through his veins?

"It would explain why he's so cold," the immortal being grumbled. C.C. shook her head. She knew she was being stupid about this, that this was nothing more than her pride being wounded. That she'd suffered much more damaging encounters in the past.

But this… insult, for lack of a better term, was like a splinter that had gotten under her skin.

C.C. looked at her reflection. She could see that she was a conventionally attractive young woman. She had a body that could get her a decent fuck at any time.

But Lelouch had all but rejected her outright.

"I'll get him for that," she thought darkly. After a moment, the anger faded and she realised that Lelouch was still necessary to her plan. "I can't kill him, but that doesn't mean I can't mess with him… Let's see what your family have to say about your new girlfriend, Lelouch…"

C.C. laughed as she prepared to track down Lelouch's address.

* * *

Nunnally looked at the young woman who had arrived on her doorstep with mild surprise. While a girl looking to see her brother wouldn't be entirely unexpected if Lelouch was more like the rest of his social class, it was unusual due to his distaste for intimacy. This visit felt like it was part of a scheme.

The princess turned her critical gaze to the visitor. Long green hair framed a cute face, while the strange outfit hugged curves that would please any male student at the Ashford Academy. And some of the female students, too if Nunnally was honest.

"And you are?"

"I'm C.C.. I'm Lelouch's girlfriend."

"Oh, well, in that case, please come in. I think we have much to discuss," Nunnally smiled. "My name if Nunnally. Do you like tea?"

C.C. nodded, but there was something telling her that she was about to get more than she'd bargained for.

"So, how did you meet my brother?" the brunette asked as she poured two cups of tea. "Was it fate? Were you looking for someone noble and pure?"

"Noble? What do you mean?" C.C. asked.

"My brother, Lelouch, he's a noble young man. The kind that makes women believe in fairy tales," Nunnally said with a happy look on her face. "He'd never mentioned a girlfriend before, so I'm curious as to how you two met and what your intentions towards him."

The immortal woman considered her response as she received her teacup. "Well, I couldn't describe our first encounter as a typical one. We were in… exceptional circumstances when we first kissed."

"You kissed Lelouch!?"

C.C. was taken aback by Nunnally's reaction. "Y-yes. Why?"

"I'm so happy! Lelouch has finally kissed a girl! Soon we can both go home!" Nunnally cheered. "Not that Japan hasn't been a lovely experience for us, but I want to see my Father. So, tell me about yourself, C.C.. It's an unusual name, where's it from?"

"It's more of an assumed name. I can't really go by my birth name," the green-haired woman answered, shifting uncomfortably in her seat.

"I understand that," the princess said in a compassionate tone. Nunnally's earlier excitement about a return to Pendragon had calmed as she assessed the woman before her. "We'll leave it at that for now, and when you're more comfortable talking about it, I'll listen. But you met Lelouch in trying times. Did he try to touch you?"

"No," C.C. answered, disappointment clear in her voice.

Nunnally nodded. There was some plausibility in C.C.'s account of the event, but Lelouch would have to go further with her before the twins could return to the Imperial Court. Draining her cup, the princess told the woman to follow her.

"What for?"

"I need to see what we're working with. You have a cute face and nice boobs, but I need more details if we're going to get you and Lelouch together."

C.C. drained her cup and followed the brunette. This was a good opportunity to a measure of revenge on Lelouch for his cold behaviour, but what was her best course of action? Sneak into Lelouch's room and steal his underwear? Leave her underwear on his pillow for the maid to see? Seduce his sister?

Nunnally locked the door to her room. "Undress."

"What?" C.C. asked, surprised at the candour on display.

"Undress. Strip down to your underwear. I need to see the body you have, what kind of style you have. Without knowing this, I can't help you with Lelouch," Nunnally explained. 'Also, I want to see what the competition is.'

The green-haired woman shrugged before undressing, efficiently shedding her clothes to reveal a curvy body clad in a matching plain white bra and panties.

"Turn around," the princess instructed. "Now bend over, let me get a good look at your butt."

C.C. played along, telling herself that perhaps just leaving her underwear on Lelouch's pillow might not be enough. 'I should leave my panties on the dining table with a note.'

"Shapely," Nunnally commented. During the repositioning, she had noticed the oddly shaped scar on C.C.'s chest, just under her left breast. 'That's not the sort of injury that an accident causes. She was deliberately hurt by someone. It would explain her assumed identity.'

The princess filed that away for the future and turned her attention to the panties that C.C. was wearing. They were plain white, but C.C. made them look good. Despite the lack of decoration, they were cute, almost wholesome. 'The kind of thing that might appeal to Lelouch.'

"So, what's the verdict?" C.C. asked, turning around to face Nunnally. "Do I meet your standards?"

"That depends on your intentions. Are you looking to get pregnant with his child for a quick payday? Because if you are, you're barking up the wrong tree. That's not who my brother is. But if you want a lasting relationship where you spend the rest of your years looking into each other's eyes before you kiss, then you've got a chance," Nunnally answered. "However."

"However?"

"There are certain factors that one must consider when it comes to a relationship with my brother. He's the Emperor's son, so there are expectations of his partner. How lewd are you willing to go?"

"I don't see how that's any of your business!"

"I think you'll find that it's very much my business, C.C.," the princess said sharply. "I am part of the committee that will decide on who will be Lelouch's fiancée. If you want to do more than admire him from afar, I suggest that you answer my questions with complete honesty."

"I… I want to hold his hand," the green-haired woman admitted.

'She's a handholder?' Nunnally realised that this woman was going to be trouble. "I bet you want headpats, too."

"Headpats?"

The princess reached up and gently patted the half-naked woman on the top of her head in an affectionate manner.

C.C. felt her knees weaken at the relatively innocent gesture. "H-headpats…"

"I knew it," the brunette sighed sadly. Sure, there would be women out there who would literally throw their naked bodies at Lelouch, but they were not nearly as thirsty as a headpat slut. "You can get headpats and handholding from anyone, why should my brother give them to you?"

"Because I would do anything for him!"

"You mean that you'd do anything for headpats," Nunnally corrected. The headpats stopped as she spoke her next words in a stern tone. "That's how you headpat sluts work. I can see that your panties are already wet after only a few headpats."

"But…" C.C. mewled pitiably. She hated that she was so powerless over this simple contact. How had she never experienced it before?

Nunnally smiled as she revelled in the power she now wielded over this unnaturally thirsty woman. 'Having a headpat slut around might be useful. It could motivate the other girls or even reassure Lelouch…'

"I'll allow your relationship with Lelouch," the princess said, removing her hand from the top of C.C.'s head. "But you must understand that there may come a time when he needs more than handholding and headpats. Those needs might have to be met by another woman. Or three."

"But he can't pat three heads at once, not properly!" the immortal woman protested. After a moment, she blushed as she realised that it wasn't headpats that these women would be getting. "Oh…"

Nunnally smirked at the change in body language she was witnessing. It was always so delicious watching someone realise that they were in over their head. She reached out and gave C.C. another pat on the head. "You're adorable, C.C.. I think my brother could be quite happy with you. Now, how can we contact you?"

* * *

Suzaku Kururugi stood at attention as he waited for the order to stand at ease. He'd been called in to Jeremiah Gottwald's office at short notice, but given few details.

Rumours were circulating that the Honorary Britannian units were going to be dissolved after the failure of a recovery mission, but that didn't explain why Suzaku had been brought here on his own.

"Stand at ease, soldier," Gottwald said. "I've got a new assignment for you."

"Sir?"

"Yes. One that I'm not too happy about, but it comes from Princess Cornelia herself," the older man said as he opened a file. "Your scores on the physical tests are very impressive, Mr. Kururugi. You regularly score top of the group. But that's not really why you got this assignment. It's your age that has worked in your favour."

"My age, sir?"

"Yes. You're 17, are you not?"

"I am, sir," Suzaku confirmed with a single nod.

"We have need of someone who can infiltrate the Ashford Academy," Gottwald said, casting a casual, yet observant eye over his subordinate.

"But that's a Britannian school, sir, and I'm an Eleven. Not to mention that I cannot afford the tuition costs."

"You are indeed an Eleven. But you are the best candidate amongst all of the troops I have at my disposal for this mission. You will be providing close protection for Prince Lelouch vi Britannia and his sister, Nunnally."

"Lelouch?" Suzaku was surprised at this. He'd only recently seen his friend again for the first time in years, to be assigned as his bodyguard was an astonishing coincidence.

"You know him?"

"Yes, we used to go to school together. Before the invasion, I mean."

"Good," the older man nodded in approval. "That means that you should have little problem keeping close to him. We have another operative undercover on site, but they will not be able to keep as close for as long as a classmate. And as for the tuition, that is being taken care of for you. Just don't fail your classes."

"I shall do my best, sir!" the Japanese soldier said, snapping to attention and saluting.

"I expect nothing less. Dismissed."

Suzaku had one last question, but didn't want to break protocol. 'I'll have to see if I can find out who the other operative is. Making a mistake and allowing something to happen to Lelouch would be shameful.'

When he was alone, Jeremiah leaned back in his chair. He'd deliberately kept the identity of the other operative a secret. Others might trust an Honorary Britannian from Area 11, but he didn't. 'Kururugi is the son of their last Prime Minister, after all.'

* * *

Nunnally knocked on the door to her brother's bedroom. She could easily pick the lock to gain access, but the purpose of this visit wasn't a burglary, but to have a talk with Lelouch.

"Come in."

The princess smiled before opening the door and stepping inside. "What are your plans for tomorrow night?"

"Why?" Lelouch asked, suddenly feeling himself on the back foot. "What are you planning?"

"We going to be having dinner at the palace," Nunnally replied.

"Do we have to?"

"Yes. You need to meet with Clovis, he was disappointed that you haven't been to see him," the sister chided.

"I don't need to see him sleep with someone else's wife!" Lelouch shot back. He sighed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you, I'm just tired. The girls at school keep trying to pass me notes."

The young man handed his sister a bag of envelopes, all addressed to him.

"I'm surprised that you didn't just throw them out," Nunnally commented as she looked through envelopes to see if she could recognise any handwriting. 'Is that from Shirley?'

"I thought about it," Lelouch confessed. "But then I realised that if I rejected everyone out of hand, you'd be upset."

'Too right,' the brunette thought with a nod. She cast a speculative glance at her brother. "I met your girlfriend earlier."

"Girlfriend? I don't have a girlfriend. You know that."

"Yes. Mores the pity," Nunnally sighed sadly. "But she said she was your girlfriend, so I had a talk with her."

Lelouch frowned. A "talk" with a Britannian royal could mean anything from an actual and entirely innocent conversation about the weather to a quick go on the Mating Press. And if a princess was involved, lips could certainly be moving, but no polysyllabic words would be uttered.

"It was a conversation about her intentions towards you," the princess insisted. "I know that you don't want a cheap and tawdry affair."

Oh did Nunnally know that her brother was against cheap and tawdry affairs. A number of girls in Ashford Academy had expressed a desire for some fun with Lelouch, all of them were confident in their sexuality and knew what they wanted from their dates. Had they been with any other boy at school, they would have ended in some kind of sexual activity.

But not with Lelouch "the Barista" Lamperouge.

Six young women and two young men had managed to get Lelouch to go on dates with them. All six ended with them getting coffee at the end of their one and only date with him. Including Milly Ashford.

"Hmm…"

"I will admit that I touched the top of her head like this," Nunnally said, giving her brother a gentle pat on the head. 'I best not tell him his girlfriend is a headpat slut. He won't understand. Plus, it'll be funny when he finds out.'

"At least there wasn't any groping," Lelouch conceded. "Since you were honest about this, you can have one of these, too."

The prince reached out and gave his sister a gentle headpat, as if he was unsure about the whole thing. When she made a noise, he quickly removed his had, as if he'd placed it on a hot stove top.

"S-sorry, did I hurt you?"

It took Nunnally a moment to answer, her mind having gone blank during the split second of contact. "W-what? I'm fine. I just… Wow… How long have you been able to do that?"

"Do what?" Lelouch asked. "This?"

He briefly touched his sister's head again, and she made another noise. This one was more like a soft moan of pleasure, causing the prince to frown. Had he done something lewd?

"I… I need to go now. Don't forget that we're going to the palace for dinner tomorrow," Nunnally said as she quickly left the room. 'So that's what it's like to be a headpat slut? Wait, if he can make me feel like that with a headpat, then what's it going to be like if he slips his hand up my skirt? I can't wait to tell Euphie!'

Lelouch shook his head. His sister was being strange again, but least she wasn't doing anything lewd. He turned his attention back to the messages he'd received. Part of him wanted to know who liked him, but part of him just wanted to run away.

"One. I'll open one letter," the prince decided. He reached into the pile and pulled out one at random. "Let's see who it's from… Oh."

Lelouch recognised the handwriting as belonging to Milly Ashford and frowned. Milly had known about Rivalz Cardemonde's feelings for her and often teased him about them, usually with an exaggerated pose or innuendo.

'Is she teasing me?'

Shaking his head, Lelouch's curiosity drove him to select another message. This one was from Shirley Fenette. That was unsurprising, Lelouch had known that Shirley liked him for some time. She was a nice person, someone who didn't act weirdly inappropriate like Milly, Nunnally or Euphie. Or the rest of his family.

Now that he thought about it, Lelouch realised that he could have had a normal relationship with her, but the crippling fear of being seen as taking advantage of her feelings for him to use her solely for his physical pleasure had always prevented him from asking her out.

Lelouch picked out a third message and blinked in surprise at the message.

'¬Please forgive me for being so cowardly and communicating like this, but I'm scared that if I was to approach you in person, you might reject me out of hand like you have with so many others.

'¬I know that you have admirers who are more forward than makes you comfortable, but I want to tell you that I have feelings for you. Not the lewd feelings that some of the more crass girls like to talk about, but the kind where we get to know each other better over several conversations. Ideally, they would eventually lead to us dating, and maybe, just maybe us having a future together.

'¬If this is the sort of thing that you're interested in please meet me at the gymnasium at 5:30pm tomorrow.¬'

Lelouch felt it was heartening to see that there was a decent young woman at Ashford, one who wasn't obsessed with entertaining their desires. That potential distracted the prince, leading his mind to wander slightly as he pondered a future with this young woman, one where they were able lead the Holy Britannian Empire along a more moral path.

"Perhaps there is still hope for Britannia's people?"

Lelouch reread the message, hoping to gain some idea as to who had sent it to him, but there wasn't much in the way of clues. Was this another of Milly's jokes? Was it part of a plot to kidnap him? What if it was genuine?

If it was genuine, he owed it to the sender to see them in person. But then, did he not also owe the other people who'd sent him messages the same courtesy?

Not that he a great deal of free time tomorrow – he was expected to arrive at the palace for dinner with his brother and sisters. He needed to talk to someone who didn't have a vested interest in him dating one person over another.

He sighed as he realised that he had only one real option for this: Nunnally.

* * *

Princess Euphemia glanced over at her phone to see who was calling her. Upon seeing that it was her half-sister, Nunnally, she answered.

"Nunnally, what's up?"

"¬I… I've got some important news for you. Two major things. One, I found someone who says that they're Lelouch's girlfriend.¬"

"Girlfriend?" Euphie repeated, unsure of how she felt about that. Part of her felt jealous that someone had swooped in and claimed Lelouch's heart. Another felt glad that her brother was finally becoming an adult. A third part was sure that she shouldn't have such intensely erotic feelings for Lelouch.

But then, she rationalised that away with the logic that if she wasn't supposed to have erotic thoughts about someone, then God wouldn't have made that person so sexy.

"¬Yes. She's not ready for the limelight, but I think she's going to be suited to Lelouch's preferences,¬" Nunnally repeated. "¬Which brings me to my second piece of news. You know how headpats are nice, but they're nothing compared to good oral sex?¬"

"Yes," Euphie nodded.

"¬Well, I think that Lelouch has some kind of magic touch. He gave me a headpat earlier and, fuck me, I thought I was going to black out from the pleasure,¬" the twin explained. She paused as she felt the memory of her brother's contact stoke a fire in her belly. "¬If he can make someone normal feel like a proper headpat slut with just a few strokes, imagine what he could do when he touches your clit!¬"

The pink-haired princess blinked. She'd heard about headpat sluts, but never really encountered one. She put that down to her overprotective sister, Cornelia, jealously trying to keep her from away from being intimate with others. Loving being patted on the head seemed like it was the sort of innocent pleasure that the Crown Prince, Odysseus, would approve of.

But if someone could make a Britannian royal feel that good with such minimal contact to a somewhat erotically insensitive area, then yes, perhaps Lelouch was some kind of sexual savant.

'Ironic, given his irrational hatred of carnal pleasures,' Euphie mused. "But how do we find out if he's really got fingers that make a caress from Venus herself look like two elephants in heat?"

"¬That's the sticking point,¬" Nunnally sighed sadly. Lelouch was not the sort to slip his hand into a woman's panties, despite the times that Nunnally and many others had told him that it was OK to do so with them. "¬Maybe we could get him a little drunk tomorrow night?¬"

"Might work, but he'll suspect things if we try plying him with alcohol. Maybe if we arrange an accident, where he falls onto one of us?"

"¬That's genius! Talk to Cornelia about it and we'll talk tomorrow before dinner. Got to go, there's someone at my door. Love you.¬"

"Love you, too," Euphie smiled as the call was ended. She closed her eyes and imagined Lelouch tripping and landing on her, his hand falling on her breast. "Yes, happy little accidents."

* * *

Nunnally put her phone down and turned to the door of her bedroom. "Come in."

"Nunnally, I… I think I need some advice," Lelouch said. "It's these messages. One of them is asking me to go to the gymnasium after school. What should I do?"

Lelouch handed over the message in question to his twin sister, who eagerly read its contents.

The brunette looked thoughtful for a few moments before looking her brother in the eye. "I think you should go to the meeting."

"But what if it's a trap?"

Nunnally's reply was an automatic reflex. "A trap is fine, too."

"What? But how can a trap be fine, too?" Lelouch demanded. "What if it's a plot to kidnap me?"

Nunnally shook her head. "Clovis and Cornelia have assigned an undercover operative to stop such a thing from happening. Not to mention that there are going to be guards on campus for a while."

"I suppose you're right about that," the prince conceded. "But I'm still worried about this."

"You shouldn't worry so much," the female twin smiled reassuringly. "Besides, you already have a girlfriend so you can let this person down easily."

"I don't…" Lelouch trailed off as he realised that this might be a way to avoid all the pressure from the girls at school. "I suppose I do. But I don't know anything about her. I don't want to sound like one of those people who say things like 'my girlfriend goes to another school, so you wouldn't know her'."

"C.C. is a nice girl. She's got a cute face, green hair and a great ass."

"Nunnally!"

"I'm being serious here, C.C.'s ass is phenomenal!" Nunnally opined. "Sure, Milly and Shirley might have more up front, but neither of them have an ass like C.C.'s. And she doesn't want you to fuck her doggy-style like Shirley does."

Lelouch frowned. "Stop talking about my friend like that! Shirley's not that sort of girl!"

"Please, if you were to slap her ass and ask her 'Who's your daddy?', her panties would be so wet, it'd be like she forgot to take them off when she went swimming!"

"Nunnally!"

Nunnally shook her head. "You don't get it, do you? Half the girls at school would gladly walk around in just their underwear if you said it would make you happy. They all want to be the one who convinces you to 'awaken your Britannian blood' and make you want to do lewd things. You're a direct challenge to their pride."

"That doesn't mean that I want to do lewd things with them. Why can't you all be normal, like the Elevens?" Lelouch asked.

The princess burst out laughing. It started as her usual melodic laugh, but it was louder and soon became crueller.

"What? What's so funny?"

"You really think the Elevens are normal? Oh, Lelouch… You clearly never read much of their manga or their light novels."

Lelouch looked confused. "I've read plenty of manga, a lot more than the average Britannian. In Japanese, too."

"Yes, but you only read shonen manga and the occasional light novel about space empires. Let me show you some of their more… interesting titles," Nunnally said as she walked to her bookshelf. She pulled out a small volume.

"My Cousin is a Fujoshi and My Mother is a Stalker!?" the prude read aloud. "What's a 'Fujoshi'?"

"Oh, my sweet summer child, you are not ready to know about such things. But I'll tell you what, if you go out on a date with C.C.. A normal date, nothing lewder than holding her hand as you go for a walk, then I'll tell you anything you want to know about the Elevens and their various subcultures. That's a promise."

"I'm going to regret this, aren't I?" Lelouch asked rhetorically.

"Well, probably. But I promise you this: C.C. will be perfectly happy for you to just hold her hand as you go for a walk. Well, she might want a headpat or two, but that's up to you," Nunnally said honestly. "I promise that there won't be any demands for a grope or attempts to ride your face until they cum. Just two people holding hands as they take a walk.

"And remember, going on a date with C.C. will only strengthen your position against dating a girl at school."

"… Fine. But I don't know how to contact her."

"I have her number, I'll send her a message that you approve of."

* * *

To be continued…


	6. Chapter 06

Non Zero Sum Game

By Lord Raa

* * *

Disclaim-me-do: I'm afraid of three things: Women, snakes, and the police. They all have the ability to hurt me and make it look like it was my fault.

* * *

Chapter 06

* * *

It had taken several drafts, but Lelouch had finally approved of Nunnally's short text message to C.C.. They were to meet at lunchtime for a brief chat.

Lelouch was still unsure about this meeting, but Nunnally was confident that it would work out fine.

"I'm telling you, C.C. will not arrive wearing just a peep-hole bra and crotchless panties."

"…"

"I told you that she knows that you're not looking for a slutty sex-idiot, but rather a more wholesome relationship," Nunnally explained with a sigh. There was an alert on the phone. "She's already replied. 'I'll be at the gates at 13.45 dressed in the Ashford Academy uniform'. See, nothing to worry about."

"But what about the security at school? Won't there be a problem if she tries to sneak in?" Lelouch asked.

"I'll handle that, you just make sure you're at the gates at a quarter to two to meet C.C.," the female twin instructed. "Oh, and don't forget that you have another meeting at the gymnasium at half past five."

* * *

Nunnally vi Britannia had arrived at Ashford Academy ahead of her brother with the intent of speaking to the newest member of staff, Villetta Nu.

The PE teacher was in the staff room enjoying a cup of coffee when the princess knocked on the door.

"Princess Nunnally," a maths teacher said in surprise. "W-what can we do for you?"

"I need to speak with Ms. Nu," the young woman smiled politely.

"Come in, Princess," Villetta said, placing down her cup and rising to her feet. "How can I help you?"

"Can we speak in private?"

"Of course, Mr. Fletcher has to prepare for the transfer student this morning. Don't you, Mr. Fletcher?"

"Yes, I had better be going," the male teacher said. He bowed towards the princess before leaving.

Villetta moved a chair for Nunnally to use. "Please, take a seat and tell me what I can do for you."

"It's about my brother. I've stepped up my efforts for finding a suitable girlfriend for him and I might have an option."

"It's not you, is it? I mean, sure, it's OK for you to have a bit of fun, but you can't have a proper relationship with him. You can't marry your twin," the older Britannian explained.

"I know. And as much as it hurts to know that I will probably never have an intimate relationship with Lelouch, I have started to come to accept it. But this isn't about me," Nunnally said, putting on a brave smile. "At 5.30 today, behind the gymnasium, someone is going to meet with my brother."

Villetta's expression turned serious. "Do you know who this person is? I have to be sure that your brother is safe."

"I… I know the name on the note, but I don't want to embarrass them."

"I see," the soldier nodded. "I will remain close by, to keep your brother safe."

"Thank you, Ms. Nu," the princess smiled, suitably reassured. "However, there is one other thing that complicates matters…"

"And that is?"

"Well, yesterday, I met someone claiming to be Lelouch's girlfriend. He's going to meet her at the school gates at a quarter to two."

Villetta blinked. "Wait, what? Your brother doesn't have a girlfriend. As part of his protection detail, I would know about that sort of thing. Hell, everyone here would know about Lelouch having a girlfriend! It would have made the international news!"

The soldier dialled Jeremiah Gottwald.

"¬Gottwald speaking. What's up, Villetta?¬"

"I think we should increase the security around Prince Lelouch. It seems that he might have a stalker."

"C.C. isn't a stalker, she's a handholder!" Nunnally insisted. "She's just a headpat slut, she's not going to hurt my brother."

"¬Prince Lelouch is being stalked by a headpat slut? I knew we should have brought him back to Britannia.¬"

"Wait…" Villetta said, noting the pleading look on Nunnally's face. "While handholders and headpat sluts are the thirstiest people alive, but we might be able to use this girl to our advantage."

"¬How?¬"

"Their desires are quite pure, so we can use this C.C. to ease Prince Lelouch into lewder things," the Knightmare Frame pilot reasoned.

"¬Maybe, but it could backfire horribly, like when they tried that with Prince Odysseus,¬" Gottwald countered.

Nunnally, however, nodded in approval. "Yes, I think we can make this work."

"¬Are you sure about this?¬"

"As sure as we can be, sir," Villetta answered.

"I will take full responsibility," Nunnally said earnestly. "It's my decision to progress with this."

"¬If it's on the orders of the Princess, I don't have much say in the matter. But I will be logging this through the official channels. I will not take any blame for this.¬"

"Thank you, sir," Villetta said, ending the call. "So about this girl? Who is she? What does she look like?"

"This is her photo. She goes by the name C.C.."

"She's cute… So which class is she in?"

"She's not actually a student here. It's complicated," Nunnally admitted. "Could you tell the guards to let her in?"

"This is a big risk… What if she's a member of the resistance?"

"Oh, she's not Japanese." The princess omitted the fact that she didn't believe that C.C. was Britannian. There were a lot of factors in play as it was, she didn't need Villetta thinking that it could be a plot from the Europeans or the Chinese. "She'll be dressed as a student to avoid suspicion."

"Princess Nunnally… I have to tell you that this reminds me of the assassination of your mother. She wanted us to be less obtrusive on the day she died. She was insistent about it and it cost her her life."

Nunnally looked thoughtful for a moment. She couldn't dispute the facts, but if C.C. couldn't meet with Lelouch, he might not be able to take his place in the Britannian line of succession. "I'm not saying that you can't be nearby, but what if we snuff out the chance for Lelouch to become a man before it starts?"

Villetta could understand the princess's point of view, but to this was quite the risk. What if this was a plot to kidnap Lelouch for ransom? What if they wanted to kill him, like they had his mother?

"Please, do this for me," the brunette said, pleading with the soldier. "I would owe you a favour. A big favour."

The teal-haired woman shook her head. "I'd need to know more about her before I could consider letting her on campus. I'm not sure that you know much more about her than you're telling me. It's too big of a risk, I'm sorry."

Nunnally knew she needed to sweeten the deal, but what were her options? 'Villetta is looking for a way to ensure a legacy for her family. I know that he wouldn't want it, but would she be OK with having Lelouch's child? She would be taken care of. Wait, it doesn't have to be Lelouch, what about…?'

"What if I was to offer you the chance to be a princess? I could arrange for you to be married to Prince Odysseus. He is a kind and decent man, you and your children would be taken care of."

The princess knew it was a long shot. The Crown Prince was famous for his outmoded stance on marital matters, and all of Nunnally's instincts were telling her that Villetta was a woman who had the kind of needs that Odysseus wouldn't and couldn't satisfy. 'But it is a starting point for our negotiations…'

"Prince Odysseus would make a good father. The problem is that I would need him to fulfil his husbandly duties more often than he would like," the Knightmare Frame pilot replied. "But if the potential husband on offer is 'to be determined at a later date', then I think we could make a deal…"

"We have ourselves a deal. I'll let Lelouch know that you'll be nearby for security purposes," the princess said. "I had better get ready for class."

"I'll keep an eye out for him after school, too."

"Thank you for your help, Ms. Nu."

* * *

Lelouch's class was surprised to see a new face standing beside their teacher.

A few of the students were talking amongst themselves about this new arrival.

"Who's that? It's a bit late in the year to transfer, isn't it?"

"Weird how they're putting him in our class."

"What do you think, Nunnally?"

"He's kinda cute…" the princess admitted. 'He looks familiar… Wait, is that Suzaku-kun? Maybe he can help bring Lulu out of his shell?'

"Is he an Eleven?"

"Wait… I think I know that face…" Lelouch said, attracting the attention of his classmates.

"You do?"

"Yes, he's familiar…"

"Settle down, everyone. Class, I want to introduce you to the newest student at Ashford Academy. Suzaku Kururugi," the teacher said as he gestured to the young man standing to his left.

"He is an Eleven!"

"An Eleven?"

"How did an Eleven even get into Ashford? And why did they have to put him in our class?"

The teacher, Mr. Fletcher, rapped his knuckles on his desk. "I said settle down. Mr. Kururugi here is an Honorary Britannian."

"Pleased to meet you, please look after me," Suzaku said, bowing his head.

'Honorary Britannian? That means he's likely soldier.' Nunnally looked thoughtful for a moment. 'Oh yes, Cornelia wanted to bring in a close protection agent. A soldier makes perfect sense and Suzaku-kun looks like he's been working out…'

"Mr. Fletcher," Lelouch said, raising his hand. "I have an empty seat next to me. Suzaku is welcome to sit here."

The class fell silent. Lelouch was an easy going sort, but to offer the seat next to him to an Eleven? No, that wasn't right. There were security concerns.

"Sir," Rivalz protested. "I… Shouldn't we be careful about about… You know?"

Several of the students nodded, clearly unhappy about a potential threat to their prince.

"Suzaku is an Honorary Britannian," Lelouch said. "He knows that he's under scrutiny. But not only that, but he's a friend of mine. Or are you telling me who I can and cannot be friends with?"

"Well, no," Rivalz said, looking away in shame. "It's just…"

"Then let my friend sit next to me."

"You heard him, Suzaku; your seat is next to Lelouch," the teacher said. Lelouch was one of the smartest people he'd ever taught, which brought its own challenges. Add in that it turned out he and his twin sister were actual Britannian royalty, and there was a lot of uncertainty on his part.

How were you supposed to discipline an unruly scion of the Emperor? Was it treason to give him additional homework or detention?

Kallen Stadfeldt had noticed that Lelouch was less of his usual lazy self now that he'd been reunited with an old friend. It was strange to see him pay anyone other than Nunnally this much attention. 'I wonder what kind of relationship they had… Hmm, Suzaku looks like he works out… Wait, no! Curse this Britannian blood for making me think about what sort of thing they did when they were at their old school!'

After shaking her head, the resistance fighter realised that she needed to update Ohgi with the information that Lelouch actually had a Japanese friend, albeit an Honorary Britannian.

'We might be able to use this Suzaku to influence Lelouch. Wait, Kururugi? That name sounds familiar…' Kallen's eyes widened as she realised just where she recognised the family name from.

It took all of her strength not to announce that it was the same surname as the last Japanese Prime Minister.

'Definitely going to have to tell Ohgi about this.'

* * *

Princess Guinevere de Britannia had opinions about the decision to allow her half-brother and sister to remain at Ashford Academy.

As scions of the Holy Britannian Empire, it was expected that Lelouch and Nunnally would complete their education in Pendragon now that they had been found safe and well. The decision to allow them to remain in Area 11 did not make sense to Princess Guinevere.

"Why haven't you had them brought back?" the First Princess asked.

"Because Father was clear with his wishes," Schneizel answered, not looking up from his current task.

Guinevere looked thoughtful for a moment. "You don't think that Father hates them, do you?"

"No," the prince replied, finally putting down the report on Sakuradite quotas he'd been issued and giving his half-sister his full attention. "I have it on good authority that Princess Nunnally's behaviour has made Father quite proud. It is Lelouch that is where the issue lies."

"I never did understand Lelouch. At least with Odysseus, there was some desire to be with a woman, even if it was the missionary position with the lights off for the sole purpose of procreation with his wife."

Schneizel nodded. "Have you seen a recent photo of Lelouch? He's quite handsome."

Guinevere looked at the offered image and nodded. "He is. But why is he still in Area 11?"

"Because part of the original plan was to allow Lelouch to bloom in… how should I put this? An environment that was further afield than Pendragon. The Elevens have certain amusing concepts and Father felt that things like communal bathing, bukkake and artistic rope binding might 'finally awaken Lelouch's Britannian blood'. Given that my intelligence reports suggest that Lelouch has a number of girls who are interested in him, we might be seeing a spark ignite the fires of his passions."

"And you don't want to risk them being snuffed out by his early return to Pendragon," the princess nodded in understanding. "But is he really going to be safe in Area 11?"

"Father ordered the invasion after the Elevens killed his mother, I don't think that they're going to risk genocide. But just to be safe, he has two guards at the school. One of whom is a skilled veteran."

"And the other?"

"An Honorary Britannian called Suzaku Kururugi," Schneizel answered as he handed over a photograph of the young man in question. "He is an old schoolmate of Lelouch."

"He and Lelouch are friends?" Guinevere asked, ideas beginning to percolate in her brain. "How long have they been friends?"

"They met a year before the invasion."

The princess nodded. "Yes, old friends being reunited after a lengthy absence and with a desire to impress his overlords, this Kururugi boy keeps risking his life to keep Lelouch safe. Often losing his shirt in the process…"

Schneizel picked up the Sakuradite report and returned to work, allowing his half-sister to continue her musings about the relationship between two young men. He glanced up and added a little comment to fan the flames of Guinevere's interests.

"This relationship between Lelouch and Suzaku might explain why Lelouch hasn't done anything with the local Britannian women…"

"Lelouch hasn't done anything with a woman?"

"No, not according to Nunnally or my intelligence."

"No-one could possibly be that asexual, even if he didn't like the local women… No, it's obviously that Lelouch has feelings for his old friend! But because of his obstinance about the desires of the heart, he thinks that they're shameful. Love is love."

"It is indeed. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to attend to."

"Of course," Guinevere said, her mind running over the possibilities of her notoriously chaste younger sibling being romantically involved with another young man. "I think I can approve of Lelouch and this Kururugi boy… I'm off to investigate further."

"You do that, Guinevere. I'll get back to running the Empire," Schneizel said, managing to not roll his eyes. When he was alone, however, he did let out a sigh. 'Maybe it would be a good idea to visit Lelouch. See if he does prefer the company of men…'

* * *

Kaname Ohgi was concerned that he had received another unscheduled communique from Kallen Stadtfeld. First it was to convene a meeting for their resistance cell and now it was one sent by her from the campus of Ashford Academy. Were it from any other member of his cell, he would have ignored the message until the next scheduled meeting and explained the need for security without humiliating them in front of the group.

But it Kallen knew about the importance of maintaining secure communications within the cell, and it had been her who had told them about the presence of Lelouch and Nunnally at Ashford. It had earned her a lot of leeway with Ohgi, so he looked at the message.

'¬I need to talk to you about Lelouch and what we're going to do with him. I don't want to say too much until we can meet again, but this is potentially very important.¬'

'A little dramatic there, Kallen,' the resistance fighter mused. 'But at least she isn't trying to assassinate or kidnap him.'

Ohgi considered his response. He was still waiting for advice from the other resistance cells, but they seemed to be less helpful than normal. Without a suitable figurehead to coordinate the cells, regional rivalries and parochial attitudes prevailed. Which meant at the current rate of progress, it would take decades to drive out the Britannians.

"That just means the freedom we win will be all the sweeter."

Ohgi replied to the message. 'All right, Kallen, let's see what you've found out this time.'

* * *

At Ashford Academy, Lelouch's words about the new student being his friend were still resonating around the campus. The swim team were discussing the situation as they prepared for their latest training session.

"I'm telling you, there's more to this than meets the eye!" an athletic young woman with blonde hair insisted. "I don't believe that someone like Prince Lelouch would just be friends with an Eleven!"

"He did say that they'd been friends for a long time," Shirley Fenette replied. "Lulu is…"

"'Lulu'? You can't call a prince by a nickname like that! Have more respect!" the blonde insisted.

"He hasn't changed who he is, Jennifer, he just has a title now."

Jennifer de Montfort shook her head, her silky blonde hair moving freely. "You don't get it, Shirley. Prince Lelouch is an heir to the Britannian throne! He might have said not to use his title, but it's disrespectful for people to not use his proper name."

Shirley shook her head. "Lelouch isn't that bothered about being part of the Imperial line. In fact, he… well, he doesn't like doing lewd things."

"That's impossible!" another young woman, one with jet black hair, scoffed. "He's a Britannian male therefore he wants to do lewd things. It's just a question of what his type is."

"I've been part of the Student Council with him for long time," Shirley replied. "His sister is normal, but Lu… Lelouch, has never even tried to peek up a skirt or down a blouse. He doesn't make eyes at the other boys here, so it's hard to know what his type really is."

"We should find out," Jennifer said. "There are enough students here at Ashford to cater to every taste."

Villetta Nu strode into the changing room. "All of you, into the pool now."

"But we haven't finished changing…" Jennifer protested.

"It's not my fault if you spend your changing time gossiping about who's dating who," the teacher replied. "It is however, my problem if you don't get your practise in. So get to the pool. NOW!"

The swim time jumped to attention and rushed out to the pool, some of the still in their uniforms. Only Shirley was in her swimsuit, and even then, she had left her cap and goggles on the bench by her locker.

Villetta let out a sigh. She knew that these young women were students, not soldiers and that she shouldn't be so hard on them when it came to gossiping about boys. But the revelation that Lelouch had a stalker was making her on edge.

Women lusting after young men of noble birth was nothing new, hell Villetta herself had once had a crush on both Schneizel and Clovis. Though that had been before she realised that she was barking up the wrong tree with Schneizel and learned that Clovis had a habit of treating those around him as community property.

The teacher idly wondered what Lelouch's stalker would make of him being lusted after by so many women. Would she be willing to share him? Would she get jealous?

'It wouldn't be the first time someone declared that if they couldn't have someone, no-one would have them,' Villetta mused. 'No time for thinking about that, I need to see what kind of lap times these girls can manage without their swimsuits.'

* * *

Suzaku Kururugi could feel the gaze of everyone in school on him as he walked with Lelouch at lunchtime.

"P… Lelouch, are you sure it's all right for you to be seen with me?"

"Yes," the prince answered. He turned to face his friend and spoke in Japanese. "¬You're an old friend, Suzaku.¬"

"¬But I'm an Elven…¬" the soldier replied in his native tongue.

"¬They only recently learned about my heritage, so they're processing what to do about having an heir to the Britannian throne amongst them. It's only natural that they're concerned for my safety. Besides, being seen with me will stop them from trying to bully you.¬"

"¬Until they think that I'm using you as a shield,¬" Suzaku replied.

"¬You're an Honorary Britannian, surely it'd be me using you as a shield?¬" Lelouch asked with a smirk. "¬You are here to protect me after all, aren't you?¬"

"¬Well, yes, but…¬"

"¬Don't worry about it, Suzaku-kun,¬" the Britannian's expression changed from a smirk to a genuine smile as he used the Japanese honorific. "¬I don't have any desire to risk my life by doing stupid things. I have to protect Nunnally.¬"

Suzaku nodded. He thought about Nunnally, how she'd grown up into an attractive young woman. There would be little doubt that she had attracted the attention of many Britannians who considered themselves potential suitors.

"¬I understand. I will help keep her safe.¬"

"¬Thank you. I mean that. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting with someone by the school gates.¬"

* * *

Milly Ashford approached Nunnally. She had heard a rumour that Lelouch and the new student were friends and wanted to know more about the Eleven who'd transferred.

"Oh, Suzaku? He was my brother's friend when we first arrived here," the princess answered with a smile. 'Why now, Milly? I was hoping to see this meeting between C.C. and Lelouch!'

"So they're close?"

"Well, they were for a while, but after the invasion, we got separated."

Milly nodded. "And what about him being an Honorary Britannian?"

"He's a soldier," Nunnally replied. "You can tell he works out. I can imagine the sex with him being quite good. Certainly more energetic than with Lelouch…"

"That makes it sound like you like him," the blonde teased.

"I suppose I do," Nunnally said after a moment's thought. "Being realistic, I am going to have to look for someone other than my brother."

"Yeah… So, about your brother… I heard that he got a number of messages recently…"

The princess smiled. "I read some of them. I didn't know you felt that way about him."

"Well, you know, I figured it was worth trying my luck," Milly grinned. "What about the other messages? Anyone we know?"

"Yes. But I'm not telling you who," Nunnally grinned back. "But I will tell you this… Lelouch is meeting someone after school today…"

"Well, it's our duty to ensure that vice president of the Student Council is not in any danger, so perhaps we had better observe this meeting?"

"I was thinking the same thing."

* * *

C.C. was feeling nervous. This anxiety didn't make sense, as she'd been far more precarious situations. There was just something about meeting Lelouch that caused the butterflies in her stomach.

'It's just a little talking, maybe a little handholding,' she told herself.

These were decent things, honest and pure. Though, if Lelouch wanted to give her a headpat or ten, then C.C. certainly wouldn't resist.

"Headpats…" the green-haired woman whispered.

C.C. had experienced almost everything the carnal arts had to offer, from clumsy fumblings with a hesitant young girl on the cusp of womanhood to taking on a group of five athletic men at the same time. And yet, nothing she'd taken part in during her long life had made her feel the same way that the headpats she's received from Nunnally had.

How could such a simple, innocent act like being gently patted on the head make her feel that good? It defied all logic and reasoning.

And yet, it was something that she had to experience again.

"Err… Hi there," a male voice said hesitantly.

"I'm… Oh, hi there," C.C. replied when she saw who it was that was talking to her. 'He's here… What do I go for first?'

"I… Can we talk?" Lelouch asked. He glanced around and saw that he was being watched by most of the student body. "Sorry about all the attention."

"It's a little intense, isn't it."

The prince took a deep breath. "You know who I am, right?"

"You're Prince Lelouch vi Britannia, Eleventh Prince of Britannia. Son of the 98th Emperor, Charles zi Britannia and Marianne vi Britannia. Twin brother of Nunnally vi Britannia," the immortal woman replied. A smile graced her lips. "The most eligible 17-year-old in the world."

Lelouch nodded once. "So what is it that made you tell my sister that you were my girlfriend?"

"I had to get your attention somehow. You practically ignored me when we first met," C.C. answered. "I'm not used to that kind of reaction."

"I was focused on trying to get us out of there alive." The prince felt a little bad about the way his words might sound to C.C.. "Sorry, I… Let me make it up to you with one of these."

Lelouch reached out and patted the green-haired woman on the head once, causing C.C.'s eyes to glaze over and legs to give out. She hit the ground with a whimper.

"Oh shit, I'm sorry, did I hurt you?"

C.C. was unable to respond for several moments, causing Villetta Nu to approach the pair.

"What's going on here?" she asked. She knelt down and noticed the look of ecstasy on the green-haired woman's face. "What did he do to you?"

C.C.'s brain had woken up after that little time out and she rose to her feet with the teacher's assistance.

"I… Oh wow…" she said, blinked as her eyes were able to regain focus. 'My panties are so wet…'

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for that to happen," Lelouch apologised, clearly ashamed that he might have hurt someone.

"What did you do to her?" Villetta demanded. She'd witnessed most of the encounter, but there had to be something else that had happened. There was no-way even the world's thirstiest slut would fall to her knees after a single headpat.

"I swear, I only touched her once. Like this," the prince insisted as he demonstrated on the teacher.

Villetta's eyes crossed for a moment and her legs felt like they'd had half of their bones spirited away and it was only the fact that she was still holding C.C.'s hand that kept her upright.

When her mental faculties came back, the dark-skinned woman realised just how much she'd soaked her underwear, with the dampness around her crotch made her think she'd wet herself for a moment. It made her glad that she'd worn dark coloured leggings that day.

She shared a look with C.C. and came to the same conclusion: We have to protect Lelouch!

* * *

To be continued…


	7. Chapter 07

Non Zero Sum Game

By Lord Raa

* * *

Disclaim-me-do: Make lewds not prudes.

* * *

Chapter 07

* * *

At the end of the lunch break, a fresh flurry of rumours began swirling around Ashford Academy.

"The mysterious girl that had been talking to Lelouch had been confessing her feelings towards him."

"The green-haired student was trying to curry favour with the Britannian prince."

"She'd upset him by insulting Nunnally and he was protecting his sister. Why else would she be on the floor? And it explained why the new teacher rushed over to the scene and dragged Lelouch away."

"He hit the new teacher, too. He might be a prince, but he's in real trouble now. It's why he hasn't come back from the teacher's room."

Nunnally shook her head as she heard the latest suggestion that her brother had turned violent. Lelouch hated violence almost as much as he hated lewd things. He would never hit a woman, even if it was to defend his twin's honour.

"Did you see it, Nunnally?" a redheaded girl asked the princess. "Do you really think she said something to upset your brother?"

"No, I didn't get a good look at what was happening," the brunette replied. "I… I was trying to get close, but you know how my brother is about privacy. I didn't want to upset him by eavesdropping."

"I just hope that Ms. Nu isn't too angry with him."

"I don't think she is," Nunnally replied. She recognised the look on the teacher's face and reasoned that the one she wore after she got a headpat from Lelouch was very similar to it.

"What if that girl got a headpat from Prince Lelouch?" a blonde girl asked. "Do you think he might give us headpats if we asked?"

"Headpats? What are you, 12?"

"Oh no, Melanie's a headpat slut!"

"N-no…"

"You are!"

A chorus of "Melanie's a headpat slut!" broke out, causing the blonde to will the earth to split open and swallow her up.

"Leave her alone," Nunnally said in a tone that warned everyone present that the teasing should stop there and then. "I'm on the committee that has been set up to find my brother a fiancée and I can tell you this: He doesn't like bullies. Maybe my brother likes giving out headpats. We don't know what he likes, only what he doesn't like: people who are mean to others."

When she was confident that her point had been made, she spoke again. "Right then, I need to find out what happened. I'll be back later with some answers for you."

* * *

Villetta Nu was completing her report to Princesses Cornelia about what she'd learned about Lelouch's magic touch.

"Having inspected his hands and fingers, I cannot see anything out of the ordinary," the Knightmare Fame pilot said into the phone. "His skin isn't abnormally soft or rough. He doesn't play any musical instruments, so it can't be anything like unusual dexterity."

"¬So it's just a supernatural talent for headpats?¬" Cornelia asked. "¬Interesting, but I hardly think that it's anything that's going to impress the Emperor. But, Lelouch is coming to the Palace for dinner tonight, I suppose that we'll find out for ourselves.¬"

The phone call was terminated by an unimpressed princess, leading Villetta to wonder if she was doing the right thing. It was important that she pass on the information about Lelouch's recently discovered gift, but Cornelia seemed rather indifferent about it. Evidently there was more friction between the half-siblings than was common knowledge.

Shrugging at the intra-family politics, Villetta turned her attention back to what to do about Lelouch. Part of her wanted to learn more about the limits of his gift, but she knew that she had to maintain her cover as a teacher.

That meant that she needed to give an explanation as to what happened with Lelouch and that girl he was meeting with.

'Wait, where did that girl go? She disappeared during the commotion… I hope that she's alright.'

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Villetta said, turning to the entrance of the teacher's communal office.

"Ms Nu… I'm here to talk to you about what happened with my brother," Nunnally said, smiling politely.

"Yes, I think we do need to have a talk," the teacher replied, gesturing to a nearby chair. "I think we should start with the girl who was meeting with your brother. Who was she really? What's her background? Why did she claim to be Lelouch's girlfriend?"

Nunnally winced slightly. She couldn't really give many answers, but she'd do what she could. "She said that she met him in trying circumstances. That he kissed her, but I think that might have been him trying to save her life."

"We would know if he had a girlfriend. Young people make things up all the time, but no-one would be foolish enough to claim that they were going out with Lelouch. Not when they're trying to keep a low profile. I ran the picture through various security service databases and there were no matches. I don't think we can trust her."

"I understand what you're saying, but this C.C., well, she's a special case. For one, she's got an ass that's out of this world."

"I didn't get a chance to have a good look, so I'll have to take your word for that," Villetta replied. "But many men have been undone by a honeytrap."

"I don't think we have to worry about her bringing down Britannia," Nunnally countered. "You saw what happened when Lelouch gave her a single headpat. I bet she'd have had multiple orgasms if he'd continued. Hell, I bet he could make ANYONE come from headpats."

The women let out a sigh as they both recalled the sensation from the prince's gesture of affection.

"I can believe that," the teal-haired woman nodded.

Villetta thought it best not to mention that she'd been so wet after a single headpat that she thought she'd lost control of her bladder. After all, she was technically a teacher at Ashford Academy, she had to set a good example for the future generations of Britannians by not getting weak at the knees after such an innocent gesture.

"So what do we do now?" asked the princess. "I want to know more about Lelouch's gift. Does it work on other areas of the body? How much can he control it? What are its limitations? That sort of thing."

"It is something that warrants further study," the Knightmare Frame pilot agreed. "But this is the sort of thing we need to approach carefully. Lelouch might already be scared about how he affected C.C. and myself. To demand that he touch us is… well, it's not what he wants. And if you force the lewdness, it's never as good as when it comes naturally."

"That's true," Nunnally nodded. "But what kind of monsters would we be if we didn't research the ultimate foreplay technique properly? Science demands that we investigate further!"

"Are you familiar with the old folk tale about the goose that laid golden eggs?"

"No. I'm assuming that it's some kind of metaphor."

"A parable," Villetta nodded. "A man and his wife had a goose that laid a golden egg every day. They think that the goose must contain a great lump of gold in its insides, and in order to get the gold they killed it and open it up. Turns out that it's like every other goose they've got."

"And in our haste, we risk making Lelouch completely asexual," Nunnally said as she filled in the blanks. "I still believe that he's just a late bloomer. He'll never be the next Caligula, but he might still become a normal Britannian if we do this right."

"Alright. Well, you'd both better get back to your lessons."

"Don't forget that we still have that meeting between Lelouch and his admirer."

"Yes… Do you think he'll ever try for a harem?"

Nunnally shook her head. "He'll always have his fanclub, but I don't think he'll seek one out."

* * *

Nunnally walked to where her brother was standing.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"We've been told to go back to class. What should we tell people?"

"I don't know…" Lelouch admitted. "I'd tell them the truth, but it's a bit weird to make someone fall over with just a light touch on the top of their head. Not sure that they'd believe me."

Nunnally was about to shrug when a thought occurred to her. "Well, what if you gave out a headpat to everyone in class?"

"A headpat? What would that prove?"

"Headpats are special," the brunette said as she led her brother back to their classroom. "They're a gesture of affection that doesn't involve what you might call 'inappropriate touching'. You are capable of affection, right?"

"Of course I am!" Lelouch insisted. "I'm just… You know…"

"That's why headpats are better than handholding: There's no implication of an intimate relationship. Just someone showing that they care for another person. Also, headpats are universal – even boys like headpats."

"Yeah, but… won't that make things weird?"

Nunnally shrugged. "Better that than having them think that you beat up a girl."

The prince sighed. "OK, I'll do it."

"That's good. It'll help Melanie out."

"What about Melanie?"

"She was getting teased by the other girls."

Lelouch frowned. "So I should start with her?"

"Yes."

* * *

There was quite the commotion when the twins returned to their classroom.

"What happened?"

"Who was that girl?"

Some of the boys were upset that Lelouch touched the hot new teacher.

"What did you do to Ms Nu?"

Nunnally cast a look at her brother before issuing her instructions. "Melanie, stand here. Everyone else is to line up beside her. We're going to show you what Lelouch did earlier. You will all get one single headpat from Lelouch. If you want one, that is. If you don't to take part, just sit in your seat and keep quiet until we're finished."

Melanie did as she was told. She wasn't interested in just headpats, like her peers had been teasing her about, but rather it was that she considered herself a good girl; one who would take her time before letting a boyfriend see her naked.

Of course, every Britannian knew that you didn't need to get naked to have a good time with someone.

To Lelouch's surprise, there were a few boys standing in line for their headpats. "Guys?"

"They're confident in their sexuality to accept a headpat from another man," Nunnally said, having nodded in approval at the male participation. Receiving a headpat from another man wasn't a signifier of anything other than you getting a headpat from this person.

It was like using a glory hole: Who was on the other side was unimportant. What mattered was that you were getting your dick sucked.

'Or that there was a dick for you to suck,' the princess mused. She never cared for anonymous sexual encounters like glory holes. They were too impersonal for her tastes. At least with a masquerade, you had to flirt a little with your potential partners to build up the rapport.

Unsurprisingly, Shirley had used her athleticism to get to be the second in line. Milly had used the authority of her position to get third place.

Kallen, however, had to maintain the pretence that she was a frail Britannian girl and found herself after the first boy in the queue. She'd heard that Lelouch's touch had caused the mysterious girl to fall to the ground, but that was the kind of touch that a skilled lover might have. And Lelouch was too prudish to practice anything like that.

Not to mention that the French Flipper Trick, as legendary as it was, was only effective on a lady's erogenous zones. The top of the head was most definitely not an erogenous zone.

At least that was the received wisdom up until Lelouch vi Britannia started to work his way up the line of students, giving each of them a single touch on the top of their heads.

A series of soft moans and whimpers were uttered by the girls at the start of the queue.

The cruel barb of "I knew it, Melanie's a…" died on one of the crueller girl's lips as she saw the look of bliss on Shirley Fenette's face.

She, and pretty much all of the school, knew that Shirley had feelings for Lelouch, but this was different from getting a smile from someone you had a crush on.

The reaction from the Student President, Milly Ashford, seemed to confirm this.

"Unn…." the blonde moaned softly. She could feel her legs weaken in the same way that happened whenever she masturbated to orgasm while standing.

"Keep going," Nunnally instructed. "There are a lot of headpats left to give."

Lelouch was sceptical, but continued down the line. As he touched the girls lightly on the top of their heads, they blushed and felt their knees weaken.

It was now the turn of the first boy in the class, Godfrey Hope. He was a slender young man, bespectacled and bright. He was one of the boys who'd hoped to attract Lelouch's attention once it became clear that he wasn't interested in girls.

At the split-second contact, he could feel his heart quicken and his head swim. His face fell when he realised that the reason for his light-headedness was the fact that the blood was now flooding his penis, giving him the biggest erection of his life.

"I…"

Kallen found herself comparing her classmate's condition to the idea of a stag that had run through someone's washing line. 'To think that Lelouch had caused that with such a simple touch…'

The combination of lewd thoughts about two boys and the magical touch of the prince caused the redhead to climax.

Nunnally helped her fellow council member to her feet. "That good, huh?"

"I… How did he do that?"

"I'll let you know when we do," the princess smiled. "Come on, Lelouch, we're only halfway through."

"But…"

"No buts, in fact, I think some of the people who were on the fence about this are now going to join in."

Lelouch sighed. How had he allowed himself to be dragged into this situation? Why could he never deny his twin sister?

The rest of his family was much easier to stand up to. Even the Emperor himself could be defied to an extent, but not Nunnally.

Steeling himself for more of this weirdness, Lelouch continued down the line, causing wet panties and raging boners with his headpats. At the end of the line, he saw his old friend, Suzaku Kururugi.

"Suzaku…"

"Lelouch, I apologise for my impertinence, but I wanted to join in. I… It would be good to show that Britannians are capable of compassion towards their former enemies," the Eleven said, not entirely convincingly. It was true that he wanted to join in, but he was more curious than anything.

His family had never been affectionate at the best of times and headpats had been in short supply during the war with Britannia and the occupation.

In fact, Suzaku hadn't even kissed a girl yet, despite his status as an Honorary Britannian giving him privileges above the average Eleven.

He felt torn between two worlds. He wanted to make the best of his situation, but he couldn't deny his Japanese heritage. He could feel the scorn from his own people and the contempt from the occupying Britannians.

"Go on, Lelouch. He's the last one," Nunnally said, happy at the way this little demonstration had gone. She doubted the girls would become headpat sluts in the same way that C.C. was, but it was interesting to know that her brother's magic touch could affect men just as much as women.

"Alright, last one," Lelouch said, forcing a smile. He allowed his old friend half a second more contact than the others, but almost immediately regretted it when he saw Suzaku's eyes roll into the back of his head. "Suzaku!"

"I… Wow… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make anyone worried," the Eleven said, feeling embarrassed that he'd caused a scene. "I… I've just never experienced anything like that before."

"That's the difference between an Honorary Britannian and a full-blooded Britannian," one of the more racist students said with a smirk.

Lelouch shot this boy a glare, but said nothing as the bell rang.

"Well, I guess it's the end of the day. Thank you for coming and we'll see you tomorrow," Nunnally smiled broadly.

The class gathered their belongings and filed out, talking amongst themselves about the sensations that had coursed through their bodies at the hands of a reluctant master of the erotic arts.

The prevailing consensus was that they had to experience his touch again.

"Right," Nunnally said, turning to her brother. "We've got 45 minutes to get you ready for your meeting. I won't forgive you if you're late."

"I… Yes, Nunnally."

* * *

Kallen Stadtfeld was struggling with self-doubt as she prepared for her meeting with Lelouch. It was normal to feel nervous when asking someone out, that it was a Britannian prince she was about to meet made it even more intimidating.

And yet, it wasn't Lelouch's status that was bothering the redhead.

It was what happened in their classroom.

Being half Britannian, Kallen was no stranger to orgasms. She masturbated on a semi regular basis and even allowed a boyfriend to get her off with his fingers. But those occasions had always required putting in some effort, either with some pornography, a fantasy or, in the case of her boyfriend, a little dirty talk.

Lelouch had managed to make her cum with barely any contact.

'I'm not sure if it's a good thing or not that Lelouch isn't like the other boys in school if he can do that,' the freedom fighter mused. Kallen had little doubt that there would be some Britannians who would kill for such a gift.

Someone more lecherous, like Rivalz, would no doubt be taking advantage of this ability to create himself a harem. That was the kind of degeneracy that marred the Britannian people.

'Maybe it's a curse,' Kallen reasoned as she checked her appearance in the mirror. 'Sins of the father and all that.'

She glanced at her watch and saw that she had to leave now to get to the gym in time to see Lelouch.

"Now or never, Kallen," she told herself. "Take it easy and you'll be OK."

* * *

Lelouch was unsure about what to say to this girl he was supposed to be meeting. His original plan was to say that he was already in a relationship with a girl. However, the meeting with C.C. hadn't gone exactly to plan, either.

The chaste prince was still unsure of what to do about the discovery that he had some kind of stimulating effect on people whenever he patted them on the head. He knew that anyone else in his family would have found a way to use such a "gift" to consolidate their power, though it was currently unclear to him how to use something that required physical contact could be used for that end.

Lelouch shook his head to clear the thoughts about his family's political posturing and allow him to focus on more pressing matters. He recalled the message about the after school meeting.

The message itself was unsigned, but the fact that it mentioned that its writer knew not to make lewd advances like the other Britannian girls did suggest that they might know him quite well.

But if they did, who was the sender?

The handwriting seemed familiar, but Lelouch couldn't quite place it. His phone alerted him to the time and he cursed.

He also knew that if he failed to turn up for this meeting, his sister would wreak a terrible revenge.

'Probably have me give out headpats to the whole school…'

After taking a deep breath, the wayward prince left the bathroom to see who it was that wanted to ask him out.

* * *

Kallen Stadtfeld stood outside the main doors of the Ashford Academy gymnasium. She'd felt less nervous the last time she fought Britannian soldiers.

She didn't hate Lelouch, even after find out about him being Britannian royalty, but she reasoned that was because he wasn't like the other Britannians. Sure, some of her fellow students had designs on him, but they were typical Britannians: all lewdness and debauchery.

And yet, Kallen had begun to wonder what it would take for Lelouch to start acting like the rest of his people. Being half-Britannian herself, she understood the pressures that parents could put upon their children. She'd spent part of the last summer break learning proper handjob technique at the behest of her stepmother.

It had been annoying, but at least she knew that if she did find a suitable boyfriend, she wasn't in danger of tearing off his cock the first time he asked for a little manual handling.

Kallen frowned as she considered the possibility that her resistance cell had only kept her on the off chance that she might have sex with them. There weren't inappropriate comments and hadn't been any unwanted advances, but the suggestion that she should seduce Lelouch had made her wonder just how Ohgi and the rest saw her.

'There should be more men like Lelouch,' she decided. Then her mind recalled the unexpected pleasure from the headpat that he'd given her.

It had been like nothing else. No amount of experimentation had ever produced that much pleasure in her before. She'd received headpats from many people over the years. Hell, headpats were part of the Ashford Academy's sex education course. The entire class had spent a week on learning the proper technique.

Well, the entire class except Lelouch, that was. He'd found a way out of attending Sex Ed.

Looking back, it made sense that Nunnally had been the star pupil in sex education. As a Britannian princess, she'd had access to the most esoteric of erotic materials. She could recite the Kama Sutra with such fluency, that she'd even corrected the teacher.

While Nunnally's demonstration of fellatio was the gold standard of the class, her headpats were nothing compared those of her brother.

'But if his headpats are that good, it makes sense that he wouldn't waste his time with those lessons,' the redhead mused.

"I… Oh, Kallen, what are you doing…? Oh… you're the…"

"Lelouch… I, err… I'm…" the half-Japanese girl stammered nervously. Her earlier confidence evaporating now she was face to face with the Britannian prince. She had never felt this insecure about meeting someone before. Kallen didn't care for rank or title, so it wasn't a case of her being deferential to a social superior.

Lelouch was a handsome, intelligent young man. A great catch for anyone at Ashford, and that was before his true identity had been revealed. That revelation just increased his value as a mate. But that connection to Britannia wasn't what made Kallen feel unsure about what she was doing.

She'd gone out with boys before, even asking one classmate out herself. And she'd flirted with men to get material and information for her resistance cell, but this was different.

"Headpats…" the redhead whispered as she realised what made Lelouch different to the rest of the male population.

"What?"

"Sorry, I… I'm just really nervous," Kallen smiled.

"Oh… Sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable, Kallen," Lelouch said earnestly. "I… There's something I should tell you, I've got… well, I mean, I kind of have, but I'm not sure what's going on with…"

There was a rustling sound from a nearby bush and Lelouch, stood between his classmate and the potential danger.

"Who's there?" the prince demanded.

The rustling continued for a moment before a cat emerged from the undergrowth.

"A cat?" said the redhead.

The grey feline with a black splotch of fur that looked like an eyepatch meowed once before slumping to the ground.

"It's hurt. We've got to do something," Lelouch frowned. He moved closer to inspect the animal. He could see that it had an injured back leg and a few scratches on it neck and tail.

"It's been fighting," Kallen observed.

Lelouch nodded. He hesitantly reached out and petted the cat once on the head, hoping to reassure the injured animal. "There, there. We'll get you some help."

The cat started to purr loudly, its front paws flexing as it kneaded the air in contentment.

The redhead blinked. 'So Lelouch's touch works on cats, too?'

It was then that Nunnally, Milly and Villetta rushed to the scene.

"What happened?" the princess asked.

"We found this cat, it's hurt," Kallen said. Hoping to gloss over the fact that she was alone with Lelouch after school.

"We have to take it to a vet," Milly opined. 'Was Kallen the girl who was supposed to meet Lulu?'

Villetta looked at the way the cat seemed happy now that Lelouch was touching its head. 'Did I look like that earlier?' "I'll take the cat to a vet, but who's going to look after it?"

"I will," Lelouch said. "If it's not got an owner, I mean. I wouldn't want to steal someone's cat."

Drool was now falling from the cat's lips.

"I think that the cat's happy with your decision, even if it's got an owner," Nunnally smiled. Her phone chimed. "Oh, is that the time? Lelouch, we need to go and get ready for tonight."

"Tonight?" Kallen asked.

"We've got dinner with the Viceroy and our sisters, Cornelia and Euphemia," the princess answered.

Lelouch nodded. He removed his jacket and tried to wrap the cat up in it. The relaxed state of the cat meant that its legs flopped apart and it was clear that this cat was male. After a moment's wrangling, the cat was safely wrapped. "Take care, little guy. I'll see you tomorrow."

* * *

To be continued…


	8. Chapter 08

Non Zero Sum Game

By Lord Raa

* * *

Disclaim-me-do: But the really sad thing is, she is being jailed for having lesbian sex, which everyone knows isn't even proper sex.

* * *

Chapter 08

* * *

Lelouch waited for his sister to descend the stairs. It had been a while since he'd been to a formal evening and Sayoko Shinozaki, maid to the twins, nodded approvingly as she appraised the young prince.

'It will do Lelouch good to get out and reconnect with his family,' the Japanese woman noted. 'And he does look handsome when he makes the effort.'

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Nunnally said as she appeared. Her gown was royal blue with gold and white trim. It also hugged her figure, but didn't reveal too much cleavage. Though, with a little modification, or on a different woman, it would be much less modest. "Do you like my dress?"

Sayoko compared the twins and wondered how they could be so different. Nunnally was like a typical Britannian, while her brother was so prudish. For a short while, she wondered if it was an act to see how far he could make a girl go to attempt to corrupt him.

While Nunnally certainly had the capacity to do such a thing, Lelouch's behaviour was genuine. He disliked the reputation that Britannia had earned throughout the years, and even disapproved of casual sexual encounters.

The more that Sayoko considered it, the more she realised how similar Lelouch and his older half-brother Odysseus had in common.

'They're certainly brothers, but I can't help but feel they're in the wrong family.'

"Yes," the young man nodded.

"The car is waiting to take you to the palace," Sayoko said with a polite bow.

"Thank you." Lelouch returned the bowed respectfully.

Even after the invasion of Japan and its annexation into the Britannian Empire, Lelouch continued to bow when talking to the Japanese people. When asked about it, he insisted that it was a habit he'd picked up from before the conflict and that not showing respect would just inflame the locals.

Had it not been for Lelouch doing this since his arrival in Japan and his excellent language skills, it could have felt patronising.

"Come on, let's get going," Nunnally said. "Clovis is looking forward to meeting up with you again and introducing you to his fiancée."

"..." Lelouch was not a fan of Clovis and his predilections.

As distasteful as it was to Lelouch, he could understand the argument that a member of the Britannian nobility might need to "find the right woman" when it came to a lasting relationship, said days of being a playboy should end when they become engaged.

He should certainly not try to seduce another man's wife in front of him.

"Come on, we don't want to keep Euphie waiting."

* * *

The drive to the palace was mostly wordless, save for a reminder that Lelouch would have to go through the ritual pleasantries of a semi-formal dinner with royalty. After entering the ornate building that dominated a large portion of the Tokyo settlement, the twins were greeted in the foyer by their half-sister, Euphemia.

"Euphie," Nunnally smiled as she embraced her sister.

"Nunnally," the pink-haired princess smiled back. She turned to look at Lelouch and nodded in approval. "I like this look, Lulu. It suits you."

"Thanks," the prince smiled, unsure of what to say next.

"Let's get inside, we have much to discuss."

"We do?" the prince asked, a bad feeling growing inside his stomach.

"Oh yes," Euphie grinned. "I hear you've got something of a gift…"

"Nunnally… What have you told people?"

Nunnally just shrugged. She could have insisted that sharing the knowledge of Lelouch's gift would be like sharing a vaccine with the world, but he wouldn't understand. Her sisters would, but Lelouch still needed a little grooming before he was ready to rejoin the Britannian court.

The royals walked into the drawing room where Clovis was waiting with his fiancée. Both of them had a small glass of white wine in their right hands.

"Ah, the prodigal son returns to the fold!" Clovis announced theatrically. "Nunnally, it's a pleasure to see you again."

Nunnally embraced her half-brother with a smile. She turned to the blonde. "I don't believe we've been introduced."

"I'm Lady Celina Mitford," the attractive woman in her mid-twenties said, giving a small curtsey.

"I'm Nunnally vi Britannia and this is my twin brother, Lelouch," the brunette said. She threw her brother a stern look that warned him of the consequences of rude behaviour.

Again, Lelouch found himself unable to refuse his sister. Steeling himself, he approached the blonde and with a smile, said "Lelouch vi Britannia at your service, milady," before taking her hand and kissing it.

That was when things took a turn for the worse.

Lady Celina Mitford was hardly an ingénue, having known about and enjoyed her fiancé's parties for many years. Just last week, she'd competed in a fellatio contest with four of her fellow noblewomen, making eye contact with the lucky man who was judging it. The week before that, Clovis and Bartley Asprius had double-teamed her on a balcony that overlooked the rose garden, with her fiancé finishing on her chest and the bald man finishing inside her.

She knew sexual pleasure, having experienced it on a near daily basis for the past eight years and she was charmed by the slightly awkward, but handsome young prince before to the point where she decided that it would be no chore to sleep with him if given the nod from Clovis.

At least, she thought she knew sexual pleasure. The gentle kiss on the back of her hand from a young man who was notoriously prudish had caused a fog of sheer ecstasy to descend on her brain. She fell to the floor like a marionette that had just had its strings cut, an expression of joyous stupor etched onto her face.

Clovis blinked in surprise. He rushed to Celina's aid and got a good look at her expression. He'd seen similar looks on Celina's face, and the faces of other women, before. 'She came like a freight train… Oh, Lelouch, you glorious bastard! Seducing my woman like that before my eyes! I knew living with the Elevens would be good for you!'

"Are you all right, my love?"

"I… I am," Celina said, blinking as her eyes regained the ability to focus. "That was… wow… I… I'll be fine, I just need to..." She coughed. "Freshen up."

"Of course," Clovis smiled reassuringly as he helped his fiancée to her feet.

Lelouch had a look of horror on his face as he tried to process what had happened to Celina. Had he managed to hurt her somehow? Or was this more like the headpat thing earlier? He wasn't sure what answer he wanted.

Nunnally, however, was able to assess the situation and moved in to reassure her brother.

"It's OK, Lelouch," she said embracing him. "Nothing bad has happened and no-one is angry."

"What has happened though?" Cornelia asked, having just entered the room. "Celina was rushing to her room."

"I… I just kissed the back of her hand and she fell to the floor," the chaste prince insisted.

"Really?" the purple-haired princess asked sceptically.

"Yes," Nunnally confirmed. "In fact, Lelouch was about to demonstrate his headpats on Euphie."

"I was?"

"Yes," Euphie said rather more forcefully than her demure reputation would have suggested. She moved closer for her affectionate gesture. "I was promised headpats."

Lelouch recognised the hunger in Euphemia's eyes and was more than a little scared. The last time she'd had that look, he'd barely escaped with his chastity intact, having lost a shirt in the encounter.

"I… fine, but only one before dinner," the young prince said, hoping that he could take some measure of control of the situation.

Cornelia recalled something about her brother having some kind of magic touch from an earlier conversation with Villetta Nu and moved closer to see what if there was any truth to it or if it was just a case of a thirsty woman getting some attention from a young man.

Lelouch reached out and gave a single headpat to Euphemia, but added in some ruffling of hair.

Now it was Euphie's turn to experience the erotic delights of Lelouch's deft touch. She let out a soft whimper before swaying. It was only Cornelia's quick reflexes that kept her upright.

"What did you do to her?" the pilot demanded.

"I only touched her like this."

Cornelia's eyes widened and her mouth watered. This light touch, this simple contact was like nothing else she'd experienced. She could feel herself wetter than when she was during her encounter with both Euphie and Nunnally.

The Knightmare Frame pilot looked at Nunnally and nodded. Now she could understand why both of her sisters wanted Lelouch. Cornelia's mind began to draw conclusions about what had happened before her arrival before entertaining certain possibilities. 'If Lelouch's kiss was anything like that headpat, Celina will have had to change her panties… Could… No, I can't. I love Euphie and ONLY Euphie. I don't like having a cock in me. Even if I'd be so wet after a few headpats, he could slip it in easily…'

Clovis's deviant mind was processing the potential of his half-brother's little gift. He saw the looks on the faces of Cornelia and Euphemia. If a simple headpat could get them that aroused, then clearly Lelouch had the ultimate in foreplay techniques.

'Having him attend a party and just greet the women as they arrived would get them all warmed up nicely. They wouldn't have to drink so much. Or... what if he gave them headpats while they were getting railed? I bet they'd love that!'

Celina returned moments before a footman entered the drawing room to announce that dinner was about to be served.

"Please accept my apologies, I was… taken by surprise there," the blonde smiled. "I have to say, Prince Lelouch, your manners are impeccable."

"T-Thank you," Lelouch smiled nervously.

As the other royals made their way to the dining room, Celina gave her fiancé a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you."

"For introducing you to Lelouch?"

"Yes. I didn't know I needed him until today. He can have me whenever he wants. Any time, any place, any hole, any order."

Celina's words meant that Clovis now needed to adjust himself, his erection becoming quite prominent through his suit trousers.

"I'll see what I can do, my dear."

* * *

"How do you fail to seduce a Britannian prince?"

Kallen Stadtfeld was not having the best of days. It had started reasonably normally, albeit with some trepidation about her mission to ask out Lelouch vi Britannia. Things had taken a turn for the strange at lunchtime, with the commotion about Lelouch's contact with an unrecognised girl and the new gym teacher, Ms Nu.

There were rumours that the prince had hit this girl for some imagined slight. Had Kallen not known Lelouch through the student council, she would have given these tales some credence and used them to fuel her anger at the occupying Britannians.

But she knew that Lelouch tried to avoid physical confrontation whenever possible. He could never strike a women. She felt a little guilty about not defending him to her gossiping schoolmates, but it would have risked her ability to conduct resistance operations with the additional attention.

If only the strangeness of the day had ended there.

"I didn't get very far with our conversation," Kallen sighed. "I was about to talk to Lelouch when this cat appeared."

"A cat? Don't tell me that bastard said 'A cat is fine, too…'"

"What? No!" the redhead replied, shocked at the accusation. "Sure, some Britannians might be like that, but not Lelouch. The cat was hurt and he just wanted to take care of it. Soon after the cat appeared, so did Nunnally and a teacher. After that, he had to leave for a dinner with the Viceroy."

"I see," Ohgi nodded.

"What about Suzaku Kururugi attending Ashford?" Kallen asked. "I mean, his father was the last prime minister of Japan."

"The other cells haven't gotten back to me about that yet," the cell leader replied. "I think they're trying to decide if he's a rallying point for the Japanese people or not. The best thing to do would be to keep observing him. See what kind of person he is."

"A traitor," Shun Yamada muttered. "That's what he is."

"Anything else to report from Ashford?" Ohgi asked, hoping to prevent an argument from breaking out.

Kallen wasn't quite sure what to tell her fellow resistance members. She didn't like to lie to them about things, but just how relevant was it to tell them about Lelouch's magical touch?

Obviously, she'd have to leave out the fact that it had brought her to orgasm if she did mention it.

"Tell us, Kallen! It might be important and help us beat the Britannians!" Hikaru Yamaguchi insisted.

She didn't like lying to her colleagues, but how would they react to the knowledge that Lelouch could turn someone on with the simplest of touches? Kallen wasn't even sure how to deal with that knowledge herself, and she'd experienced it first hand.

She was about to tell them "no" when a thought occurred to her. What if the Britannians weaponised it? Not on the battlefield, but in some kind of soft power way; through handshakes and headpats with the public crowd?

How could the resistance movement fight back if the public were all happy to experience a headpat from Lelouch?

No, they had to know about it. Even if they could only use that knowledge to prevent contact with Lelouch's magic hands.

"Well, there one thing, but it's kind of weird."

"Tell us," Ohgi nodded, leaning in to better hear this development.

"Lelouch… He's got something of a special touch. He can… well, I saw him give people boners with a single headpat."

"You can't turn a man on with a headpat. Not unless they're rubbing his small head," Shun insisted.

"It wasn't just men though," Kallen added. "It… Look, I got one of these headpats. They're like nothing you've ever experienced before, OK?"

"Well, new research project for everyone. I want everyone to find out what they can on the power of headpats," Ohgi instructed. "I'll need citations, not just anecdotes from online forums or comment sections."

"Citations?" Hikaru asked, almost laughing at the instruction. "This isn't peer review or a PhD paper."

"I know, but if Kallen's right about Lelouch's touch, the Britannians might try to use it to win over the population. We'll need to counter it or at least, know its limitations."

* * *

The starter course at the Viceroy's dinner was a lobster bisque, served with a seeded bread roll.

"So, Lelouch," Clovis said, reaching for his soup spoon, "Do you have a girlfriend yet?"

The young prince stalled for time by taking a sip of water. 'What should I say? I mean, I only met that CC girl twice and that conversation with Kallen didn't really begin.'

"Well, no, but Euphie, Cornelia and Nunnally said they were going to be helping me find someone suitable."

"Yes," Nunnally nodded. "We have a couple of options, but we can't force things with Lelouch. We are going to have to take things slowly."

Euphemia looked a little sad. "Yes…"

Cornelia was still thinking about the headpat she'd received from her half-brother. For a Britannian royal to be so affected by a single headpat, it was almost shameful. But yet, it couldn't really be called a headpat. The sensation that Cornelia could be best compared with was like when Euphie slipped her hand down the front of her panties and began to stimulate her clitoris with her dainty fingers.

It was something that she needed to experience again and maybe learn how to use it to make Euphie happy.

"What kind of woman would you consider suitable for Lelouch, Cornelia?" asked Clovis.

"I… I'm not yet sure," the pilot replied. "I think we need to get to know Lelouch a little better first. Just selecting a woman based upon the standard criteria for an arranged marriage to a prince isn't going to make for a happy relationship."

Euphemia perked up at the idea of getting to know Lelouch better. The pink-haired princess nodded in approval. "Yes, we will need to get properly reacquainted."

Nunnally smiled before continuing to eat her bisque. 'I don't think I could have planned this better if I tried.'

Celina was thinking about Lelouch and the kiss he gave her. 'It was a polite kiss on the back of my hand and I came like he'd eaten me for half an hour! I need that in my life. Clovis is happy for me to be with Lelouch, but how do I get him interested in me?'

The blonde cast a quick look at the princesses, she had a feeling that the younger women were both interested in Lelouch. 'We're not related by blood, but will that work for or against me? Is a sister-in-law going to be enough? Or will my relationship with Clovis hamper things? I need to know more about what kind of thing Lelouch likes…'

"What kind of woman are you looking for, Lelouch?" Celina asked casually.

"I don't really have a type."

"Everyone has a type, even Odysseus" the blonde insisted. "Besides, we're Britannians, we're allowed to be interested in more than one person."

"But…" Lelouch sighed. This was the sort of thing that had tarnished his people's reputation for generations. "If I'm being completely honest, I'm not sure what kind of person I like. I do know that I want someone I can have a proper relationship with. I don't want one of those casual relationships where people don't know where they stand."

"It's fine to have a sex friend," Clovis countered. "A proper relationship is all well and good, but a little variety will spice things up nicely for you."

"I'll have to take your word for that."

* * *

CC was lying in the bath as she replayed the events of the day in her mind. The headpats she'd gotten from Nunnally the previous day were eye-opening. The pleasure from a simple affectionate gesture had broadened her horizons immeasurably.

It was ridiculous that none of her former lovers had ever thought to try that, even when she'd gone down on them. Sure, there had been some caressing of her face, but no headpats.

'I would have given out more blow jobs if I'd gotten headpats in return,' the green-haired woman mused.

CC could feel her nipples harden as her train of thought moved on from the simple headpats that had moistened her panties to the single second of contact from Lelouch.

Several hundred years ago, CC had used a Geass to compel an entire village to love her. During one particular wine-fuelled festival, all of the single men, and quite a few of the married men, had lined up to fuck her. One after the other, they filled her needy pussy with their cocks, thrusting into her until they came.

It had been the greatest sexual encounter of her life, bringing her to climax countless times during the night. She'd been unable to walk properly for three days afterwards, but it had been worth it.

And now, that night of being fucked by dozens of men who worshipped her was nothing compared to what CC had experienced at the hands of a wayward Britannian prince.

"I need him…" she whispered as her left hand moved to play with her nipples and her right hand slipped between her shapely thighs to quell the fire that was now burning in her loins.

CC's fingers moved quickly in and out of her wet pussy, she needed release here and now. It didn't take her long to orgasm in the bath, but it more of an obligation than an act of pleasure.

The immortal woman looked down at her hand and felt hollow. Not ashamed at her masturbation, but rather because the resultant orgasm was a so disappointing compared to her lunchtime climax.

After a few moments thought, she came to a conclusion: It didn't matter what it might cost her, she needed the touch of her prince.

If it got her headpats from Lelouch vi Britannia, she would do whatever he asked of her. If he wanted her as his pet, she would walk around on all fours in nothing but a collar. If he wanted to see her with another woman, she would seduce women night after night for his viewing pleasure.

If he wanted her to bear him children, she would become his broodmare.

"I will see him tomorrow," CC decided before climbing out of the bathtub. 'But where should I meet him?'

* * *

At the Viceroy's palace, the fish course was a smoked eel dish, served with potatoes and a beurre blanc sauce.

Cornelia was a little sceptical about the second helping of fish for their meal, but was soon won over after tasting the delicate, smoky spiciness of the eel.

"So, Lelouch, how long have you been honing your skill with headpats?" the pilot asked.

"I haven't. I only started giving headpats out the other day."

"It's true," Nunnally confirmed. "I'd know if he'd been sneaking out to give the local girls headpats."

Lelouch felt uncomfortable for some reason. Was it because it was it implied that Nunnally had him under surveillance or was it more Cornelia suggested he had been sneaking out and giving out headpats to unsuspecting and unwilling girls like some kind of sex-pest?

'Or perhaps it's because Celina keeps giving me those looks?'

"Regardless, those hands are quite magical," Euphemia said with a smile. "I think we need to study them further."

"Why?" the wayward prince demanded. "What could you possibly learn from studying my hands?"

Nunnally sighed. "I don't think you quite understand the power you have, Lelouch. Let's ignore the sexual aspect of it for now, but you can bring joy to the masses with only a single touch to the top of their head. You know those political histories you enjoy reading so much? Well they often talk about soft-power."

"There's a difference between the soft power of cultural exports like art, music and food and whatever it is that I can do to people."

Celina shook her head in disbelief. The prudish nature of Lelouch had to be an act – there was no way a Britannian Prince could possibly think that sex wasn't an important aspect of life.

The Holy Britannian Empire prided itself on exploring the limits of human sexuality. While not everything translated well to other cultures, but enough did to make it worthwhile for businesses to observe the BELI, or Britannian Empire Lewdness Index, and backing the right trends in sexual practices could net an entrepreneur a fortune in export rights and intellectual properties.

One of the most famous and secretive authors in Britannia, D'Iscarica, had made a great deal of money by writing novels, comics, screenplays and even rulebooks for sex games based upon the desires that the public were expressing via the BELI.

Even a blind man could see the importance of sex to the Britannians, and being able to control people with a simple touch? Even if it was only for a short time, a means of non-violent population control could prove as valuable as Sakuradite.

"There's more to soft power than its potential to generate income," Clovis said, preparing to eat some more of his eel. "How do you put a price tag on people being more amenable to your country? But you can rest assured, I'm not going to let you be shipped out to put your hands on people you don't want to touch just to make Father or Schneizel happy."

Lelouch nodded in approval. But only because he didn't know precisely what his half-brother was planning for him.

Clovis was starting to engineer scenarios where Lelouch's magic touch could be put to a more proper use rather than just for some cheap political point scoring with foreigners.

"So, what about your relationship status, Nunnally? Surely you must have some suitors lined up?" Celina asked.

Nunnally cast a look at her twin before smiling at her future sister-in-law. "Well, I haven't had much chance to date anyone, what with us having security concerns. But I'm hoping that I will be able to find someone soon."

"I'm sorry for keeping you safe from the perverts at school!" Lelouch shot back.

"I know you're only trying to keep me safe," Nunnally smiled sweetly. "Your intentions are good, but sometimes, you have to make your own mistakes."

Lelouch frowned. He understood precisely what his sister meant, but it pained him to think of his sister getting hurt if he could prevent it. 'If only there was someone suitable at school… Wait, what about Suzaku? He's a good person, not degenerate like the other boys at school. Plus, he could keep Nunnally safe from other threats.'

"Now that you mention it, I can think of one person that might get my approval."

"That's good to hear," said the brunette as she perked up at the thought of getting a boyfriend. She would press her brother for the details later.

* * *

Kallen Stadtfeld was surprised to see that both of her parents were waiting for her.

"Father," she said. She turned to her stepmother and gave her a glare. "Mother."

"And when were you going to tell us the truth?" asked the Stadtfeld patriarch.

"What truth would that be?" the redhead evaded.

"That your classmate Lelouch is actually a missing prince?" Mortimer Stadtfeld clarified.

"It's bad form to keep such secrets from your parents," Lisa-Marie Stadtfeld chided. "But given that you're home much later than usual, can we assume that you've had a more… intimate meeting with Prince Lelouch?"

"I… I tried," Kallen admitted. "But we were interrupted."

"A shame," Mortimer sighed. "It would have been quite the boost to have my daughter dating a prince."

"Yes," Lisa-Marie nodded. "Think of the balls we could be invited to."

The blonde smiled at the thought of being invited to one of Prince Clovis' famous parties. The Elevens tended not to invite Britannians to their bukkake parties these days, and the thought of having regal seed cover her ample chest and face made her feel warm inside.

"Might require one of use getting a certain little certification renewed first, Dear, but it could work out nicely for us."

"Damn the Britannians and that stupid 15IBRC certification," Kallen muttered under her breath. She hated that particular accolade that some of her peers strived for. She hated lots about the Britannians and its depraved culture.

She especially hated her stepmother. It was almost insulting to her Japanese heritage that a Britannian would culturally appropriate a love of bukkake like that.

"So what interrupted you?" Mortimer asked, having heard but deciding to ignore the muttered comment.

Mortimer and Lisa-Marie Stadtfeld indulged their daughter's rebelliousness about the 15IBRC and its infamous certification procedure. After all, Kallen was still young and hadn't officially announced her sexual preferences. Had it not been for her comment about trying to get a more intimate meeting with the prince, they could have easily assumed that she was a man-hating lesbian.

"It was a cat," the redhead sighed. "We were about to talk when an injured cat appeared. "Lelouch tended to it, but he had to leave for a dinner with the Viceroy."

"Oh, that's a shame," Lisa-Marie said. "So, what's Prince Lelouch like? The press doesn't tell us much about him, other than he's got a twin sister and his mother's death caused the war. They didn't even have an up to date photograph of him."

"Well, he's handsome and intelligent and very protective of his sister," Kallen answered.

"That's good," Mortimer Stadtfeld nodded in approval. "No daughter of mine is going to on a date with an ugly man, no matter his social standing!"

Kallen was surprised by the forceful nature of her father's opinion. He'd always emphasised the importance of beauty in the women in his life, but to insist that his daughter only date handsome men was new.

"Wait, your only concern is that Lelouch is handsome? What if he tried to rape me?"

"He's a prince, Kallen. It would be an honour to be fucked by a handsome young Britannian prince," the blonde woman insisted. "We spend a fortune sending you to the best school in the land and you still don't understand these things?"

"Well, I'm sorry for wanting to learn about more than sucking dicks!" the rebel shot back.

"Kallen," the father said. "I'm sorry that it sounds like we're being callous and shallow. Of course there is more to life than sex. I'm glad that you're doing well in your studies and I would be greatly upset if you were assaulted in any way to the point where I would do something stupid in an attempt to avenge you."

"Then why are you acting like this?"

Mortimer took a deep breath. "How many grandchildren does the Emperor have?"

"I… I don't know. How many grandchildren does the Emperor have?"

"None. Zero. The Imperial line might continue for the next generation, but after that? There are no guarantees. Odysseus doesn't have a fiancée yet. Schneizel loves his gimps too much. Guinevere spends too much time looking at gay porn to approve a fiancé. Cornelia and Euphemia are in a lesbian relationship with each other.

"There are others, but none of them have made any announcements. That leaves Lelouch and Nunnally to continue the line in a timely fashion. And there are doubts that Nunnally will pick someone other than her brother."

"What makes you say that?" Kallen asked. She'd seen how close Nunnally had tried to get to Lelouch, but he'd always rebuffed her. Eventually, she would get the message and find another man. In fact, she was sure that the princess had cast a few appraising glances at the new student, Suzaku.

"Historically speaking, Royal Britannian twins tend to have relationships amongst themselves."

"Lelouch isn't like that though!" the redhead insisted. "Lelouch isn't even…"

"Isn't like what?" Lisa-Marie asked, pressing for more information.

"Well," Kallen stalled for time. She wasn't sure how her parents would react to the knowledge that the wayward prince who'd just been found again was a prude. "Lelouch isn't interested in Nunnally."

"Oh?"

"Yes. He doesn't approve of incest."

Mortimer blinked in surprise. Normally, the Britannian Imperial line would fuck anything that was nearby that caught their eye, but it seemed that Lelouch was more refined than that.

"Wait, if he's concerned about inbreeding, then a girl who isn't a pure-bred Britannian could be just the thing to help win his heart! You're in an excellent position, Kallen!"

"I don't think it's going to be that easy, Father," said the rebel. "I can't just walk up to him, kiss him on the lips and say 'how about we have a baby together?' can I?"

"No," Lisa-Marie admitted, "That's a breach of etiquette. But I think you should continue to get to know him better. Even if he doesn't pick you as the mother of his children, it wouldn't hurt to keep him as a good friend."

* * *

To be continued…


	9. Chapter 09

Non Zero Sum Game

By Lord Raa

* * *

Disclaim-me-do: I can't pretend to be much of a judge of poetry. I'm a disclaimer.

* * *

Chapter 09

* * *

The Britannian Empire Lewdness Index, or BELI, was part information exchange, part cultural archive, part forecast service and part intelligence agency.

Originally, the BELI started its existence as a cultural archive called the Institute for the Study of Human Relationships in the early 18th Century to allow people to place their desires in a historical context and help understand why they felt the way they did about certain things. After the start of the Industrial Revolution, it took on a more commercial aspect.

The Institute started to record what people were spending their money on, mainly at the behest of the treasury to determine if taxes needed to be levied on certain products or services. It was part of this tax plan that caused the Washington Rebellions later that century.

It turned out that the quelling of this rebel and his followers helped save the Britannian people, after the flight of the Imperial family to the American colonies in the early part of the 19th Century.

In the year 1817, the Institute found its mission changing at the behest of the first Emperor, Ricardo von Britannia. Part of the reason for the Humiliation of Edinburgh was the perceived lack of intelligence for disruptive and belligerent elements in British society at the time.

What better way to gather intelligence on the population than to record their desires? It had the benefit of tracking trends, allowing clever entrepreneurs to make a fortune, thus increasing the Imperial revenues through taxation. This did require the finest minds in the land to look at potential production bottlenecks like imports to ensure that public demand could be properly met.

The reports that the BELI started produce were originally quarterly, given the data mining techniques and distribution methods available at the time, but soon the invention of the telegraph and the development of the railway network meant that the reports would be issued monthly and even at the turn of the 20th Century, weekly.

Now though, the reports were all electronic and could be issued hourly. There was some debate as to the propriety of this near-instantaneous dissemination of information. On the one hand, it allowed for rapid reaction to shifting trends, but on the other, a report incorrectly overstating the popularity of a new trend in fetish fashion could cost a fortune in unsold inventory. Not to mention, the potential for embarrassment at an Imperial masquerade.

Such was the importance of accuracy and authenticity that Empress Claire li Britannia had declared that misleading agents of the BELI was a serious felony. Fortunately, the Empress also had the foresight to understand that the BELI was now a very powerful organisation and made it a capital crime for an agent to knowingly submit a misleading report.

As such the fear of misleading the Imperial family made a junior analyst question what he was seeing from the social media feeds.

"Headpats? What the hell? Why are headpats suddenly trending in Area 11?" Sean McKenzie asked aloud. He refreshed the feed to check he wasn't misreading things and when the screen continued to display messages about headpats, he investigated further.

While it was common for local cultures to influence Britannian enclaves, that there was an increasing number of messages from young Britannian women referring to headpats seemed strange.

Previously, bukkake and public transport groping had been the trends that had come from Area 11. They weren't to his taste, but they made some sense to Sean in a "I have control over you" manner. Headpats, however, didn't make sense outside of a mass case of infantilism in the local population of young Britannians.

Looking into the messages in more detail revealed that the cluster of messages seemed to come from the Ashford Academy in the Tokyo settlement area. Some of the messages were in Japanese though, and they were put through the automated translation programmes for later analysis.

Soon there was a common theme to this trend.

"Lelouch, Prince of Headpats?" the analyst questioned one message. He blinked before reading another. "Prince Lelouch has a magical touch! I came when he gave me a headpat."

Sean McKenzie leaned back in his chair as he pondered the claims from Area 11. If they were true, someone over there had the kind of touch that aristocrats would kill for. If they were true, could this technique be taught to others or was it more like a fluke of genetics, like the ability for auto-fellatio?

But were they true? It was no bad thing to mention this to a supervisor, especially given the penalties for inaccurate reporting.

'Wait, what if it's an attack?'

That possibility was the most horrifying to the analyst. There was more to modern warfare than just numbers of men and what Knightmare Frames you could field. Battles could be lost before they were even got beyond a few range-finding shots without proper intelligence. Misinformation was a significant worry since the advent of telecommunications, and the BELI had been at the forefront of cybersecurity.

But if the Chinese Federation had managed to hack into its network, then the BELI could be compromised. Sure, it was just a trend right now, but if this was a breach, who knew where it could lead.

No, Sean's course of action was to talk to a supervisor. If it was nothing, then it was nothing and he'd get some teasing from his boss about being overcautious. But if it was a new trend amongst the youth, then it needed to be recorded and processed as such. And if it was indeed a breach, then security would have to be stepped up immediately.

* * *

Celina Mitford was still trying to get Lelouch's attention when the main course of Clovis' meal, wasabi and ginger cured pork belly, was brought out. The sharp tang of the meat contrasting well with the creamy dauphinoise potatoes.

"I think you should come to the palace more often, Lelouch," the Viceroy said, ignoring his half-brother's lack of reaction to his fiancée's flirtation. "It would do you good to get familiar with princely duties."

"Yes, coming here to visit is a good idea," Euphemia nodded. "A very good idea."

"And what princely duties would they be?"

"Ensuring that Area 11 is run properly," Cornelia replied. While she cared little for Clovis' swinging parties, preferring the company of Euphie above all others, she thought a little professionalism on the matter would prove useful in convincing Lelouch to rejoin the family.

"Yes, that's what I meant," Clovis smiled. He cast knowing look at Nunnally, who nodded in reply. "I'm still a little upset you were hiding from me for so long, Lelouch."

"I had to protect Nunnally."

"Obviously, but it would have been easier if you'd come to me."

"I didn't want to be a bother," Lelouch shrugged. 'That and I didn't want to see you molesting married women.'

Celina was growing frustrated at the lack of response from the young prince. The table was too wide for her to comfortably rub her foot against his thighs. Not that she thought he'd react favourably, given his earlier responses in the evening.

'Why can't he be more like Clovis? Why can't he see that he can have me any time he wants? Why wouldn't he want to exert his power me?' the blonde pondered.

She could see that the younger of the two princesses were enamoured with him, and after the kiss she's received, she completely understood why. With a touch like that, any woman would want to be his. Celina had often fucked other men, but Lelouch was different. She could see herself being drawn to his harem.

A harem was the goal of many Britannian men, and most of those understood that a true harem was beyond the average man. Looks, personality and wealth would always help you gain one, but even high ranking princes could fail to keep their women happy.

There were many doubts that Odysseus would be able to make his wife happy, given his stance that sex was for procreation, not recreation.

But if Lelouch was capable of making a woman orgasm with a kiss on the hand, then he could keep dozens of women happy. Celina made a mental note to see if there were any historical records of such skills or if Lelouch was the first of a new breed of lover.

'A chosen one… A messiah. Or perhaps just a naughty boy,' the blonde thought, making herself smile.

"I still can't believe that you've never had a girlfriend," Cornelia said, having had several glasses of wine already. "A handsome young man like yourself? I'd have put money on you having to beat them off with a stick."

"The girls were always too pushy," Lelouch replied. "They all wanted me to put a hand up their skirts or squeeze their boobs."

"Given the quality of your headpats, I can see why!" the pilot laughed. She was trying to be nonchalant about it, but her mind was telling her that she had to experience Lelouch's touch more and more. 'But I only want Euphie! Wait, it wouldn't be cheating if Euphie was there, too…'

"I told you, I only started giving out headpats the other day!"

"It's true," Nunnally nodded. She wasn't sure if she was glad or sad that her brother didn't give out headpats on a regular basis. On the one hand, it did mean that the girls at school didn't have to change their underwear on a regular basis. But on the other, there was something amusing about the female population of Ashford Academy lining up for their daily headpat.

'That's actually not a bad idea, maybe we can expand it to make the Elevens less rebellious? Yes, a variation on the Princess Lottery…'

* * *

Sir Ian Vanderbilt looked up from his lunch to see Sean McKenzie standing in the doorway.

"What can I do for you, McKenzie?"

"I… I've found something odd, sir. I was checking the social media trends in Area 11 when I found something unusual."

"Go on."

"I… It's headpats, sir. Headpats are trending in Area 11. Well, specifically the area surrounding the Ashford Academy. They're talking about a 'Prince of Headpats'."

"Prince? But Clovis doesn't venture far from his circle of aristocratic friends. Sure, there are some nobles in Ashford, but I don't think Prince Clovis is interested in them. Not unless they're ready for his parties."

"It's not Prince Clovis, sir. I think it's Prince Lelouch," McKenzie replied.

The section chief frowned. "Prince Lelouch vi Britannia? The Prudish Prince?"

"That's why I brought this to you, sir. I don't know if headpats are about to make a comeback or if there's an attempt to manipulate trends or if it's a security breach."

Sir Ian moved his lunch to one side and brought up the Area 11 feed. "Headpats are trending in Tokyo. There are some searches as to how effective they are. They could be coming back as a retro trend."

"There's more to it than that, sir, there's talk of him having a magical touch. Given that Prince Lelouch was notoriously respectful of personal space, why would he start giving out headpats to his classmates? This is why I think that someone's trying to mislead us."

"You might be right here. Keep track of the messages in Area 11. I'll see talk to the head of security about checking for a breach."

* * *

After the dessert course, the dining sextet retired to a balcony for some fresh air.

"Prince Lelouch, might I trouble you for a headpat?" Celina Mitford asked. "All this talk of them has me recalling my schooldays."

"A bit young to be trying to recapture your youth," Cornelia muttered under her breath.

Euphemia was the only one to hear the comment, casting a look at the pilot. She frowned when she saw the look in her sister's eyes. She knew it well. 'Cornelia's going to be a bit rough tonight…'

"…" Lelouch wasn't sure what to make of the request from Celina. The way she'd been trying to get his attention during the meal reminded him of Shirley Fenette, but that had been just the natural tendency of Britannian women to flirt with men. Now she'd outright asked for a headpat.

"It's alright to give out headpats, Lelouch," Clovis smiled. "In fact, I insist that you give Celina one."

"But…"

"Lelouch," Nunnally said. "It's fine. It's not like you've been asked to bend her over the balcony and fuck her doggy style."

"Nunnally, please!"

"Though, if you want to do that, that's fine, too," Celina purred.

"Please do if it makes you happy, Lelouch. It's as a host it's my duty to take care of all of my guests' needs," Clovis smiled.

"Then get me more wine," Cornelia said, thrusting her glass at her half-brother. "I'm getting thirsty standing out here."

"But of course, Cornelia," the Viceroy replied. "And you, Lelouch, you should give Celina a headpat."

The prince sighed. At least this evening hadn't degenerated into one of Clovis' sex parties, though he was sure that his sisters might not object too loudly at such a development.

"OK, here you go," he said as he reached out and gently touched the head of his future sister-in-law.

"Oooh…" the blonde moaned before her knees buckled and she fell to the floor.

"How do you manage that?" Cornelia demanded, reaching for her half-brother's still outstretched hand.

"I don't know!" Lelouch insisted as Euphemia and Nunnally helped Celina to her feet.

"Hmm," the Knightmare Frame pilot replied as she started to inspect the appendage.

The skin on his palm didn't feel any softer than her own, and there wasn't any roughness on the fingertips. She hadn't expected there to be much, given that Lelouch wasn't a manual labourer.

"Nothing out of the ordinary," Cornelia mused before touching the hand to her cheek. She'd experienced a hand caressing her face before, from the few boyfriends in her life and both Nunnally and Euphemia.

But that contact was like a slap compared to the sensation of Lelouch's touch.

"Lelouch…" Cornelia whispered. "I… I don't normally let men touch me, but you… You're welcome to touch me any time you like."

"But… I'm not supposed to touch people!" Lelouch insisted, unsuccessfully trying to pull his hand free from his sister's vise-like grip.

The purple-haired princess disagreed. "With your touch, it's a different matter."

To prove her point, Cornelia moved Lelouch's hand to her breast, causing him to blush heavily and her to let out an orgasmic moan.

"C-Cornelia?" Euphemia asked, unsure of what to make of her sister responding to the touch of a man in such a manner.

The pilot just pulled her brother in to kiss him on the lips, her tongue probing his mouth. All the time, the intimate contact continued to bring previously unknown pleasure to her.

After a minute, Cornelia needed to break for air. She panted as her eyes blinked to clear the stars from her climax.

"I… I'm sorry," Lelouch said, embarrassed by what had happened.

"There's nothing to apologise for," Nunnally said reassuringly. "Well, other than not kissing anyone else, I mean."

Euphie nodded and stepped up to claim her kiss.

Clovis smirked before handing Cornelia a fresh glass of wine. "So, how was it?"

The pilot just smiled in reply as she accepted the glass. After taking a drink, she spoke again. "Why not ask Euphie – you can see how she's trying to dry-hump Lelouch."

"Yep, that's what I'd be doing," Celina said, nodding in understanding. "Clovis, I know you like sharing and swinging, but if Lelouch said to me that I was to only fuck him, I'm sorry, but I'd become his. Exclusively."

Clovis blinked. He was unsure of how to take that. On the one hand, he was amused and aroused at the idea of his fiancée being seduced away from him by his younger brother, but on the other, to abandon the swinging scene after a kiss on the hand and a headpat? That was either arbitrary and ill-informed or Lelouch had a power that hadn't been seen before in the history of humanity.

"And what if he said that you were only to fuck me?"

"Then I would do that on the promise of headpats," the blonde replied. "I'd marry you tomorrow and give you as many children as you want, but I'd be thinking of headpats from Lelouch and counting down the minutes before I got them."

"So his headpats are like drugs?" Clovis asked, thinking about how he could use their addictive nature.

"Yes," Cornelia confirmed as Euphie rolled off Lelouch.

The pink-haired princess was panting and wore a euphoric look on her pretty face. After a minute, she'd recovered just enough breath to speak.

"Everything… about… Lelouch's touch… is… addictive."

Nunnally looked down to see that Euphie's grinding her crotch against her brother had left large damp patch on the supine prince's clothes. She wasn't sure if she wanted to have a go herself, or maintain control. After all, it looked like the previously phallus-free Cornelia was now ready to have Lelouch fuck her in any hole.

'You can't exert power over anyone when you've been reduced to a quivering cock-sleeve that's begging for a fucking,' Nunnally told herself. 'Even if it's Lelouch's magic touch that's left you like that.'

After a closer examination, the brunette realised that the contact had started to cause a little stirring inside Lelouch's trousers. 'That's the first hint of an erection I've seen him have… Well, it seems that we're moving forward at last!'

Lelouch looked up to see his twin sister smiling. It scared him.

"Don't worry," Nunnally said as she helped her brother to his feet. "I told you that I'll respect your decisions when it comes to sex in public."

"Thanks," the prude said. He let out a sigh. "Can I go home now?"

"But the night is still young!" Clovis protested.

"We have school in the morning," Nunnally said. "However, you can all have a headpat as a parting gift."

"Nunnally…" Lelouch tried to chide his sister, but the look she was giving him made all his resistance melt away. "Fine. Just one headpat but then we have to go."

Euphemia was the first in line for the parting headpat. "Me first, Lulu."

Euphie was a surprisingly strong-willed young woman. She might have the appearance of a delicate princess, but she had a stubborn streak that rivalled Cornelia.

Lelouch sighed again. He wondered if he should do something to his hands. Sure, an amputation would be an inconvenience, but it would certainly stop him from having embarrassing nights like this again.

'No, Nunnally would be upset if I hurt deliberately myself,' the prince told himself. He took a deep breath and gave his pink-haired sister a headpat.

"Oh, Lelouch…" Euphie moaned as she leaned into the hand.

"That's enough," Nunnally said. "There'll be plenty of time for headpats later. Cornelia, you're next."

Cornelia smiled and lowered her head for brother. "Don't forget the side to side motion."

Lelouch did as he was told and ruffled the pilot's purple locks, eliciting a throaty moan and flirty look.

Next up was Celina, who's panties were so wet, it was like they had just been pulled straight from the washing machine.

"I'm yours, my prince…"

"But you're Clovis' fiancée!" the young prince insisted. "You should only be with him."

"If you promise me headpats, I'll be the best wife in the world for Clovis," the blonde said earnestly.

Realising his power for the first time, Lelouch smiled and reached out to his future in-law. "Then you should only be intimate with Clovis."

"Unn…"

"Don't forget Clovis," Nunnally said, smirking at her brother's revelation at the power he had under his control. "Clovis, no more cuckoldry."

"Yes, no more cuckoldry!" the prude said as he ruffled the hair of his older brother.

The Viceroy was taken by surprise by the speed and hardness of his erection at Lelouch's touch. "I… promise, no more cuckolding."

"Good. Now, let's go, Nunnally."

* * *

Lying on her bed, Villetta Nu was thinking about her encounter with the magical touch of Prince Lelouch.

Over the course of the day, she'd thought about how the simple, single headpat had turned her on more than anything she'd encountered in the past, but now she was in a position to properly contemplate things with the aid of her vibrator.

The dark-skinned pilot closed her eyes as she recalled the delicate touch of the prince on the top of her head. It was so different to any headpat she'd experienced before.

Lelouch vi Britannia was the undisputed master of the headpat.

Villetta began to circle her clit with the tip of her vibrator, it's gentlest setting proving a pleasant stimulation as her mind considered what might happen if she was to be the one that married Lelouch.

"If his hand can do that to my head..." the pilot whispered, as she imagined his gentle caress working her rock-hard nipples. "Fuck me, Lelouch…"

Villetta increased the vibrator's setting to level two and began to tease the entrance to her womanhood with its head, pretending it was her prince using his shaft to ensure she was ready to take its full length. She was slick enough with her own juices and slipped the phallus inside her, enjoying the sensation of being filled.

The pilot bucked her hips as she slid her sex toy in and out of her hungry pussy, moaning softly as she started to get into the depths of her masturbatory fantasy.

Villetta lifted her legs up as she imagined Lelouch doing his best to thrust into her, as if there was a prize for reaching the entrance to her cervix with the head of his cock.

"Fuck me!" she growled as she upped the speed on the vibrator to its highest setting. "FUCK ME!"

The obscene sounds of the synthetic cock being plunged into Villetta's hungry pussy mixed with her demands to be fucked by the prince and filled the bedroom as the pilot approached orgasm. Villetta moved her left hand to play with her breasts, as she pinched her left nipple, she came.

"FU~UUUuuuu~~" she moaned, shuddering violently on the now sweat-soaked sheets.

It was a good orgasm, technically even better than the one she'd had at lunchtime at the hand of Lelouch. Villetta turned off her sex toy and rolled onto her side, a contented look on her face.

"He'll fuck me properly one day," she sighed happily as her eyes closed.

* * *

On the way back to their home, Nunnally was smiling at her brother.

"What's up?"

"I'm proud of you."

Lelouch blinked in surprise. "Proud of me? For what? Being attacked by Euphie?"

"No, not that," the princess shook her head. "I'm talking about what you did with Clovis."

"Asked him to stop molesting other people's wives?"

"Yes. The Elevens have a shorthand term for cuckoldry, they call it NTR and it's a shit-tier fetish. Stealing someone's woman or allowing other men to sleep with your woman makes you a shit person."

"But Father had multiple women…" Lelouch replied, confused as to the distinction.

"There's a difference between having a harem and just shrugging your shoulders when another person fucks your wife," Nunnally explained. "And as for getting filled by two dicks at once? Well, some women need more than the average man can provide."

"Isn't that what, you know, toys are for?"

"Yes and no. If only you'd attended the sexual education lessons, you'd understand this all. Your ignorance of this sort of thing is your own fault."

"Sorry for not wanting to see people's most private moments in graphic detail," the prince huffed.

"You know, it might not be that bad of a thing that you didn't take those lessons," Nunnally said, stifling a yawn. "They actually spent a week teaching people how to give proper headpats in Sex Ed. I dread to think what would have happened with you there. They'd probably never have gotten to correct oral technique or how to prepare for anal."

Lelouch rolled his eyes. "Thanks for that."

Nunnally reached out for Lelouch's hand. "All talk about oral and anal aside, I'm glad that you're taking a stand against NTR. Even Father hates it."

"Really?"

"Yes. I remember him ranting about how awful people who like NTR are. I'll spare you the details of his rant, but if we can cut down on the amount of NTR in the Empire, Father might stop pressing you to be like other Britannians. He might accept you having just one woman in your sex life."

"Will I get any say in who that woman is?"

"Yes, of course."

* * *

To be continued…


	10. Chapter 10

Non Zero Sum Game

By Lord Raa

* * *

Disclaim-me-do: If you're a thicko, when people say "index finger" they mean the one people generally use for pointing at things.

* * *

Chapter 10

* * *

C.C. was having a pleasant dream about a long walk on a sunny afternoon with Lelouch vi Britannia.

They walked through a well manicured park, marvelling at the varieties of flowers and trees. People were looking at them, some were gently scoffing at their handholding, but Lelouch didn't care about their opinions on their relationship.

He only cared that she was happy.

It was so refreshing to find a man who didn't focus on his own gratification these days.

That he was capable of bringing her to leg-shaking orgasm with a light touch to the top of her head was just a bonus.

The dream continued, with Lelouch leaning in to kiss her on the forehead, when a voice entered C.C.'s mind.

"¬Hey, C.C.!¬"

The immortal woman ignored it, her fantasy continuing with the prince about to show her some affection when the voice shouted at her again.

"¬HEY! C.C.!¬"

C.C. sighed as she realised who it was that was contacting her. "What now?"

"¬I met Lelouch earlier! Well, with this body, I did. He's so handsome!¬"

"I know," C.C. replied. "Can't this wait?"

"¬Well, no. This is the first chance I've had to come to the fore today. Not only did I meet Lelouch in person, but he gave me a headpat. Fuck me, I've never had one like it!¬"

"Neither had I until today," the sleepy woman admitted. "But aside from how Lelouch gives great headpats, what else did you want to tell me?"

"¬I have to get my own body back! Momma needs some action, ASAP!¬"

"I can't help with that right now. I haven't even convinced him to make a contract with me."

"¬Right, right. Look, keep him safe. I know that he's got bodyguards, but they can't take hits like you can. If you keep him safe and well and ready for my turn, I'll let you into his harem.¬"

"You'll let me into his harem?" C.C. repeated. "You make it sound like you have any authority when it comes to Lelouch. Besides, his sisters are the ones who are making that decision."

"¬But they want him for themselves… Well, not Cornelia. She only wants Euphie. But Euphie and Nunnally want a sex sandwich with a Lelouch filling. If they're in charge of it, they'll freeze you out!¬"

"We'll see about that. Now, if you don't mind, you were interrupting a nice dream. Good night, Marianne."

* * *

Lelouch was looking up at the ceiling of his room as he considered recent events.

It would seem that he was the perfect incarnation for the degeneracy that was his heritage. A man capable of causing people to orgasm with a single touch, able to cause people to lose control and debase themselves.

If Clovis had it, he would use this power to humiliate every married couple in the world. No woman would be safe from his lecherous grasp.

'At least if Cornelia had it, she would only use it on Euphie…'

But then, another thought occurred to the young prince. Having this power meant that he could have some influence over people. He could use it to get what he wanted.

"Whatever that is," he muttered.

Lelouch was not certain what he wanted. Sure, he wanted his twin sister to be safe and he wanted to know more about the circumstances surrounding the death of his mother. After that though? The future was far too hazy for Lelouch to think about right now.

It was like his time back in Pendragon, he was too focused on the here and now to plan things out properly. And now that he had this… blessing? Curse? However you described it, it had only increased the chances of him being sexually assaulted.

Long term planning was not something the Lelouch would have the opportunity to do at the moment. Perhaps it would be best if he lived like a hermit? At least that way, he could remain unmolested.

No, that would be a lonely existence, one that he had no real desire to experience. Besides, Nunnally would be upset if he wasn't in her life any more.

He let out a sigh and rolled over. "I hope that cat is OK."

* * *

In her room, Nunnally was reviewing her day's entry in her journal. She'd learned a lot today, and felt it was necessary to make a note of what she'd discovered.

Not only was Lelouch's touch magical, but it was not gender or species specific. Men, women and cats could all be affected by even the most fleeting of caresses from the prince's hand.

'¬To make Cornelia, a woman who dislikes the idea of being intimate with a man, pull Lelouch in for a kiss… Truly he has the divine touch.¬'

'¬It might be possible to use Lelouch's power for diplomacy. Once Father and Schneizel learn of this, they're going to attempt to, if not weaponise it, at least have Lelouch greeting dignitaries at summits and treaty negotiations.¬'

Nunnally knew that as soon as her diary had been locked away, she'd be masturbating herself to sleep. She needed her brother's touch. She let out a sigh as she recalled just how prudish he was.

"Wait…"

The pen was picked up and the princess started to add more to her entry.

'¬I noticed that after Euphie started to rub herself against Lelouch, he started to get a semi. I realise that this must have been a friction-induced reaction, but it was still a reaction! I won't lie, I did think about jumping on him and riding him. It would have been fun, but with Lelouch, we have to go at his pace. To push things too far would cause him to retreat further away from the carnal arts and the pleasures of the flesh.

'¬I can't let that happen: It would be a crime against sexuality.

'¬I have no reason to doubt that if it was another woman, one who wasn't related to him, Lelouch would have had more of a reaction. I'm going to need a suitable test subject.¬'

Nunnally was about to close the journal for the day when she recalled one last piece of information and wrote it down.

'¬Lelouch mentioned that there was someone who he approved of as a potential boyfriend. Any other twinned prince would have put himself in that position, but with Lelouch, I can't help but feel that he wants more genetic diversity in the ruling line. Lelouch is very protective of me, so it would have to be someone he trusts not to hurt me. I'll get him to tell me more tomorrow.¬'

* * *

Euphemia and Cornelia lay sated in each other's arms, their bodies slick with the drying fluids from their most recent act of physical intimacy.

"Euphie…" the pilot said softly, unsure if her lover had already fallen asleep.

"Yes?" came the reply.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry," Cornelia said, giving her sister a gentle squeeze. "I know I teased you about Lelouch, but after his touch tonight… Well, I love you and I will always love you. There's no-one I'd rather be with."

Euphie smiled. She recalled her dry-humping of Lelouch, though there was nothing dry about her womanhood.

"I understand, Cornelia. I love you, too," the pink-haired princess sighed happily. "If only we could get Lelouch to join us…"

"Nunnally would be so jealous," the elder sister smirked. There was a pause as Cornelia considered her next words. "Is it bad that I want to make her jealous? I don't mean keep Lulu to ourselves, but imagine the look on her face if she was to walk in on the three of us."

"That'd be so naughty!" Euphie said, shocked by the suggestion.

"Obviously, I'd let her join us, Euphie! I'm not a monster. I just think it would be funny for her to see her twin brother's first time be with someone else."

"I don't know…"

"Don't forget that she talked us into doing it with Lelouch." Cornelia kissed Euphemia on the top of the head. "I'm not going to do anything to hurt my favourite sisters."

There was another pause.

"I know I'm a little overprotective of you, but you are the special person in my life. The reason I get up in the morning and I don't know what I'd do if I lost you. But with that said, I think that I can let you do it with Lelouch and Nunnally. Either of them, together or separately, I don't mind. Just promise me you'll come back to me."

"Of course I'll come back to you!" Euphie said, shifting her position to look her sister in the eye. She kissed Cornelia on the lips. "There's you, Nunnally and Lelouch. And now that we've found them again, we can be together forever!"

* * *

Kallen Stadtfeld was unsure of what was going to happen today at school. Now that her parents and her resistance cell were both pushing her to make a move on Lelouch, the pressure was mounting.

Pressure that she wasn't sure she knew how to handle.

She also knew that there was a good chance that Milly Ashford was going to tease her about seeing Lelouch after school. It wasn't like she'd done anything to embarrass herself during the brief encounter with the prince, just a basic greeting and then that cat appeared.

The redhead was beginning to think that coming to school was a bad idea and was about to see if she could duck out of her lessons when Nunnally approached her.

"Hello, Kallen."

"Nunnally, what are you doing here? I mean, hi."

"So, I wanted to talk to you about last night…"

"Ah, well…"

"I approve of you and Lelouch," Nunnally smiled. "Obviously we have to go at the right pace, and there are other factors to consider, but I think you and Lelouch could be happy together."

"Thanks," Kallen smiled, her cheeks colouring. "Though, what factors are you referring to?"

"All in good time," the princess grinned.

* * *

In a secured location, Kaname Ohgi was talking with some other resistance leaders. Their conversation was currently about Japan's last prime minister, Genbu Kururugi.

"He was a symbol," Kenji Shinozaki said, his heart heavy with what he was about to add. "But I cannot say that I was behind his demand for everyone in Japan to fight the Britannians in a death or glory last stand. It's one thing for us to give our lives for our freedom, but can we expect children and old ladies to fight a Knightmare Frame?"

"I don't think he meant to send out a battalion of pensioners with bombs strapped to their chests in a suicide rush," Ohgi countered. He paused as he could feel that there was still some disagreement about Kururugi and his plan. "We will have to move on from the last days of the war if we're to come up with a decision about what to do about his son, Suzaku."

"What's the public's opinion on Kururugi?" asked Shinozaki. "Senior, I mean."

"How do I put this? There are… certain rumours that circulated," Jiro Tamura said. "Rumours that don't paint him in the best of lights."

"What kind of rumours?"

"Again, these are just rumours, but it was suggested that they should sell a Britannian child to a brothel."

Shinozaki looked shocked at what he was hearing. How could someone in a position like prime minister even contemplate selling a child.

"What? What child? When? And who told you that?" Ohgi demanded.

"It's… Well, the rumours say that it's something that was talked about in cabinet meetings off the record," another cell leader said, shifting uncomfortably. "The child was Princess Nunnally."

Given that the death of her mother sparked the war, selling Princess Nunnally to a brothel would have signed the death warrants of everyone in Japan, even with the rumours of what the Britannians got up to in their bedrooms. What the Romans did to the city of Carthage would have looked like a polite disagreement between two friendly neighbours compared to what the Britannians would have done to the archipelago.

"Speaking of Princess Nunnally, I have an operative in her and her brother's class at Ashford."

All eyes turned to Ohgi.

"Ah, yes, you mentioned this. You were looking to gain influence over him, how's that going?" Shinozaki asked.

"Not well. I mean, my operative is trying the 'school romance' angle, but it seems that Lelouch is a complicated fellow."

"Complicated as in he's got so many fetishes, that he gets bored easily?"

"More like he doesn't have any," Ohgi answered. "Obviously, I haven't met him, and I'm only going on what I'm told, but he's not really like any other Britannian. He's… well, not perverted."

There was some mocking laughter. A Britannian who wasn't perverted? That was like finding a fish that hated water.

"I'm serious, K- my operative tells me he doesn't leer at his classmates. Not even his twin sister."

"I've met your operative, and she's cute. If Lelouch isn't interested in her, you need to find a man who's willing to seduce him."

"He's not interested in men, either," said Ohgi. "But, there is something else that I need to tell you. Apparently, Lelouch has a magic touch. He's skilled at headpats. Like, he can make you weak at the knees with them."

"Preposterous. The only way a headpat can make you weak at the knees is if you're getting head at the same time!" Tamura sneered. "Your operative is just a sexually frustrated schoolgirl."

"She saw male classmates get boners from a single headpat. How do you explain that?"

"They're Britannians: They're all fucked up."

"Gentlemen, please," Shinozaki appealed for calm. "We'll deal with the headpats later. What we need to do is formulate a suitable seduction plan. Shiro, go get us some fresh tea. We may be here some time."

* * *

Schneizel el Britannia was reading through the evening BELI briefing report he'd been handed. He was surprised to learn that headpats were causing a stir in Area 11.

'I thought the Elevens were more into their groping on public transport and bukkake,' the prince mused as he looked at the trends that had shown the greatest movement. It was then that he saw the section that would be redacted for the general publication.

"Lelouch can make you climax from a single touch?"

Further reading indicated that the moniker 'Prince of Headpats' was circulating from several sources and they all referred to the lost prince, Lelouch vi Britannia. The redaction was for security purposes, but the reference that there was a young man with a divine hands that could bring pleasure with a single touch would be published.

Schneizel placed the report down and reached for his drink. "The gods have played a cruel joke on Lelouch to do this to him. For such a prude to become a god of foreplay…"

The prince shook his head before taking a sip of his drink, a blend of Caribbean coffee and rum.

"Wait, we might be able to use this…"

Placing down his cup, Schneizel started to draft a memo, hoping that his father would approve of his plan to quell rebellious sentiment in Area 11. After all, there was that incident with a secure facility in the Tokyo region that was still under investigation. Who knew what the strength of the rebels was? They might have some old Knightmare Frames. Which, while not a real match for the latest models the Britannian Army was fielding, it could still cause them problems.

Especially if Clovis' troops were too focused on keeping their viceroy's hands of their girlfriends.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

Emperor Charles zi Britannia stepped into the office, his large frame looking particularly intimidating that evening.

"What can I do for you, Father?" the Prince asked, rising from his seat.

"I want to talk to you about the latest BELI report."

"About the 'Prince of Headpats'?"

"Yes," Charles confirmed as he took a seat. "Do you really believe that Lelouch might be some kind of foreplay savant?"

Schneizel nodded. "The gods can be cruel, and I think they would have cursed Lelouch like that. I imagine he would make an excellent all-round lover, but be quite poor at the mechanical aspects of sex."

"A two pump chump?" the Emperor asked, slightly amused by the rhyming couplet. "He might even be unable to have children. But that's for another time. It's his headpats that we need to investigate."

"I was just thinking the same thing, Father. In fact, I was drafting a memo. I want to use it to help placate the Elevens."

Charles smiled. "Excellent work, son."

"But what about Lelouch?"

"What about him?"

"Well," Schneizel said as he reached for his coffee, "Shouldn't he have some say in this? Won't Nunnally protest at her brother being used in such a way?"

"Perhaps. But duty to the Empire comes first," the Emperor replied. After a moment, spoke again. "Tell Lloyd Asplund he's got a new priority for his research. Research that might require Nunnally's help."

"Ah, I see," the Prince nodded knowingly.

* * *

During a meeting of the Student Council, Milly Ashford was casting a couple of speculative glances at Lelouch and Kallen.

Milly had always felt that there was something faintly exotic about the redhead. It was quite alluring, but the student president never had the time to explore things further. However, her grandparents had told her that if something was important, you should make the time for it and that advice was now being put into practice.

Kallen was a good girl, though not exactly a prime candidate for the average Britannian Prince. She was beautiful, buxom and had a feisty streak. The sort of young woman who was desirable to many but was too much to handle for most admirers.

Aside from his long standing habit of being horrified by displays of human sexuality, Lelouch was the sort of person who would take the path of least resistance. The sort of person who would put in the minimum amount of effort possible. His grades were good, but nothing spectacular. He avoided physical exercise whenever possible. He was not the sort of person who could handle a firebrand like Kallen.

And yet, the more Milly thought about the two, the more she felt that they might actually be more compatible than many people might think.

Kallen seemed to share Lelouch's distaste of normal Britannian behaviour and, in a way, they were both rebels.

'It helps that they're kind of cute together…' the blonde mused. A thought occurred to her. 'Maybe I should push them together? Not lock them in a bedroom, but arrange for them to spend more time together?'

Nunnally threw a questioning look at Milly before gesturing at her brother and Kallen. She gave her approval with a single nod. The was a lull in the meeting and the princess took the opportunity to ask a question that she had been wondering the answer to since last evening's dinner with her family.

"So," Nunnally said casually, "I believe that there's one last order of business that we need to discuss before ending today's meeting. Something that came up during dinner with the Viceroy."

"Oh?" Milly asked.

"Yes. Lelouch, last night, you said that there was someone you might consider suitable for dating me."

"I did?" Lelouch blinked in surprise. He'd expected there to be more talk about headpats today, and had spent most of his cognitive function trying to figure out ways to avoid touching people. The mention of a potential suitor for his sister had taken him by surprise. "Oh yes, I did. Sorry, do we have to do this now? It's just that I don't want people to think that I'm trying to force someone into doing something they don't want to."

"I think we all want to know who meets your standards," the princess replied.

"I… Well… I haven't talked to them about it yet."

"Well, since this is unofficial, we'll leave this part out of the minutes," Milly said, gesturing to the secretary.

"Promise me that you won't confront them or try to bully them or basically do anything about this," Lelouch said solemnly. "If you do, I'll consider a personal insult and an attack on Nunnally."

Nunnally shivered in pleasure at the way her brother was trying to keep her safe. It was his protective nature that was part of his appeal. That and his handsome face and now it turns out that he had a magical touch. 'If only he had tried the old "it's safe in my bed" ploy…'

The rest of the Student Council agreed to Lelouch's conditions.

The Prince of Headpats took a deep breath. "I… The person I think that might be suitable for Nunnally's boyfriend, and I hasten to add that I haven't made any final decision on this, is Suzaku Kururugi."

"Wait, what?"

"Who?"

"An Eleven?"

Kallen blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected Lelouch to be so open to an interracial relationship; perhaps she did have a chance to get close to him after all?

"Suzaku Kururugi?" Nunnally repeated. A smile forming on her delicate lips. "Yes, I think I'll ask him out later."

"Seriously? He's an Eleven!"

"He is cute though," the princess countered. "He's a soldier, too. He can protect me. And I'll literally be princess carried!"

Milly nodded. Being carried in the arms of a strong man was a classic fantasy and if Suzaku Kururugi was a soldier, he would certainly be strong enough to carry a slender girl like Nunnally.

"So it's decided, Nunnally will ask out Suzaku later and after that, we can start focusing on the draw for Lelouch's date for the festival. How many entries have we had so far?"

"Almost every girl at Ashford," Rivalz answered. 'Would have made me fat stack of cash, too, if you hadn't intervened!'

"Any teachers?" asked Shirley. It was bad enough that the odds of winning the draw were now one in a thousand, but a teacher might try to manipulate the result.

Everyone had seen the beauty that was Villetta Nu. Tall, toned and with an exotic appeal, the newest member of the faculty was an object of desire for many at Ashford Academy. If Lelouch's reluctance to be intimate with someone was because of their age and technical inability to consent, a woman like Ms. Nu would be the perfect solution.

"We thought about that, but it turns out that the law states that we have to limit it to students," Milly answered. "Teachers dating students is still technically a crime, after all."

"It's ridiculous!" Rivalz complained. "Hey, Nunnally, maybe you can ask your brother to make a 'Hot For a Lady Teacher' exemption for us? Even if it's only for festivals, it'll be better than a complete prohibition."

"I can try," Nunnally said, but her tone told everyone that she wasn't convinced it was going to work. "But the equality laws state that it'll have to be the same for everyone regardless of their gender. Rightly or wrongly, people have more issues with men dating their female students than women dating their male students."

It was then that shouts of commotion and the occasional gunshot started to ring out on the campus.

* * *

To be continued…


End file.
